DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

Funds flowing from banks will allow developers to repay offshore loans and dollar bonds, helping to repair global investors' bruised confidence, two of the sources said. Each of the four banks, Bank of China (601988.SS), China Construction Bank (601939.SS), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (601398.SS) and Agricultural Bank of China (601288.SS), will pick several developers to fund, the three sources said. The third source said that, while the big four banks preferred fresh lending to go to state-backed developers, they would have to include some private firms, which have a greater need for offshore loans. Chinese banks make offshore loans secured against domestic assets to companies that need foreign funds, but regulatory tightening in the last couple of years to rein in debt-fuelled empire-building by corporates hampered that kind of lending. China's central bank will also offer cheap loans to financial firms to buy bonds issued by property developers, separate sources have told Reuters.

☆ China's property woes fuel risks to its financial system - Moody's
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Risks to the stability of China's financial system are rising on continued sluggishness in its property sector and an economic slowdown, making smaller banks more vulnerable, rating agency Moody's said on Friday. China's property sector has slowed sharply this year after Beijing's efforts reined in excessive borrowing by developers. "Risks to the stability of China's financial system are rising amid a contraction in the property sector and the country's economic slowdown." Despite the banking system's overall strength, smaller banks are most vulnerable and much more exposed to risks from the property sector, Moody's said. The property sector risks have weighed on banks' asset quality, with analysts expecting the non-performing ratio for real estate will stay high for lenders in the coming months.

HONG KONG/SHANGHAI/BEIJING, Dec 2 (Reuters) - China has ordered its top four state-owned banks to issue offshore loans to help developers repay overseas debt, three people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, rolling out its latest support measure for the cash-starved property sector. The regulators have given 'window guidance', or verbal orders that leave no paper trail, to the banks, setting a date of Dec. 10 by which to make the loans secured against domestic assets, two of the sources said. Funds received after the latest step will allow developers to repay offshore loans and dollar bonds in a bid to repair global investors' bruised confidence in the sector, two of the sources said. Each of the four banks, Bank of China (601988.SS), China Construction Bank (601939.SS), Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (601398.SS) and Agricultural Bank of China (601288.SS), will pick several developers to fund, the three sources said. The People's Bank of China, the central bank, and the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

An index tracking high-yield dollar bonds of Chinese developers (.IBXXAX13) has jumped more than 70% from its Nov. 3 low, but is still down about 70% from its peak in May, 2021. A growing list of Chinese developers have entered into or are preparing to kick-off debt restructuring talks with offshore bondholders after defaulting on payments. Of 241 dollar-denominated bonds issued by Chinese property firms, 211 are trading in distressed territory below 50 cents on the dollar, Refinitiv data shows. The recent rally in developers' shares and bonds on the back of funding support measures, however, has given investors some respite. "A recovery in property sales would be firmer in a re-opening scenario," said Justin Ong of Columbia Threadneedle, which holds China property bonds, as it would offer a clearer timeline for re-opening.

The global job cuts at the London-headquartered bank will fall across several business units and geographical locations and result in the loss of at least 200 positions, mostly with the title of Chief Operating Officer (COO), the sources said. HSBC, which used to position itself as the world's local bank, employs many COOs because country and business lines have their own separate COO, the sources said. The lender has been shrinking its sprawling global business for several years, downsizing in many regions and exiting some countries entirely as it tries to improve shareholder returns. The initiative, codenamed Project Banyan, follows HSBC's last major redundancy plan in 2020, which targeted up to 35,000 job cuts globally across all staffing levels. Three separate sources confirmed job cuts were underway, as HSBC joins a chorus of other western banks axing staff as a bleak global economic outlook weighs on business, consumer and investment banking revenues.

[1/4] A Christmas tree is decorated in front of the headquarters of Swiss bank Credit Suisse in Zurich, Switzerland November 23, 2022. Credit Suisse declined to comment on job cuts in the Hong Kong private banking business. Credit Suisse said in October it intends to reduce its cost base by around 2.5 billion Swiss francs ($2.67 billion) to about 14.5 billion in 2025. Client outflows have partially reversed and very few clients have left entirely, Credit Suisse Chairman Axel Lehmann told a Financial Times conference on Thursday. The fresh round of private banking cuts signals challenges facing Credit Suisse as it shifts towards banking for the wealthy, after vowing to ramp up wealth management globally.

☆ Hong Kong sees IPO slowdown reversing; eyes international issuers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Sumeet Chatterjee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

China's economic slowdown, a sweeping regulatory crackdown that has tightened scrutiny over companies' fundraising outside mainland China and geopolitical tensions have all resulted in a bleak year for new listings in Hong Kong. "In other words, we will make ourselves much more diversified (with) many more international companies and that will be our strategy." International investors account for about 42% of investments in Hong Kong's equity market, and that share is "a lot higher" in the derivatives market, Cha said. Years of strict COVID restrictions have also badly hit Hong Kong's economy, but the city has lifted most of its curbs in the last couple of months. "So for us, there was, like the rest of Hong Kong, a higher attrition rate about 12 months ago, and that has come down now."

China on Friday launched its first private pension scheme in 36 cities as it grapples with a rapidly ageing population, allowing individuals to open retirement accounts at banks to buy pension products ranging from deposits to mutual funds. The move marked the official launch of China's version of IRA, or Individual Retirement Accounts in the United States, a private pension scheme that offers tax advantages for individuals saving for retirement. As part of the new system, local domestic workers covered by China's public pension insurance can participate in the private pension scheme and contribute up to 12,000 yuan ($1,680) per year to their individual accounts and receive tax benefits. Eddy Wong, chief executive of China International Fund Management (CIFM), a joint venture between JPMorgan and Shanghai International Trust Co., said China's individual pension market has "huge potential and room for development". "The first movers in China's pension market enjoy an advantage," said Howhow Zhang, Greater China wealth and asset management strategy and transactions leader at consultancy EY.

HONG KONG/SHANGHAI, Nov 25 (Reuters) - China's central bank will offer cheap loans to financial firms for buying bonds issued by property developers, four people with direct knowledge of the matter said, the strongest policy support yet for the crisis-hit sector. China has stepped up support in recent weeks for the property sector, a pillar accounting for a quarter of the world's second-biggest economy. As a result of the crackdown, though, property sales and prices fell, developers defaulted on bonds and suspended construction. Chinese media reported on Monday the central bank planned to provide 200 billion yuan in interest-free relending loans to commercial banks through the end of March for housing completions. Among other recent official support, China's interbank bond market regulator said this month it would widen a programme to support about 250 billion yuan ($35 billion) of debt offerings by private firms.

HONG KONG/BEIJING, Nov 24 (Reuters) - China's biggest commercial banks have pledged at least $162 billion in fresh credit to property developers, bolstering recent regulatory measures to ease a stifling cash crunch in the sector and triggering a rally in property shares. Three state-owned banks lined up around $131 billion worth of credit lines to developers on Thursday, a day after three other lenders committed $31 billion, responding to Beijing's call for support. The massive, coordinated injection of liquidity into the property sector buoyed the shares of major developers on Thursday. PSBC late on Thursday announced that it would provide a total of 280 billion yuan in financing to Country Garden as well as others. China Construction Bank Corp (601939.SS) signed cooperative agreements with eight property developers, including Vanke, Longfor and Midea, financial media outlet Yicai reported.

The report noted that potential disposals of non-core assets may include Fosun's stake in Cainiao. According to Refinitiv data, Fosun has agreed to sell or sold over $5 billion in assets this year. Reuters reported on Tuesday that Fosun has appointed Deutsche Bank to sell its stake in reinsurance company Peak Re. read moreIn 2013, Fosun had invested 500 million yuan as a co-founder of Cainiao, the logistics firm that underpins delivery for Alibaba's e-commerce marketplaces. Cainiao raked in 26 billion yuan in revenue in the six months ended September, up 19% year-on-year and accounting for 6% of Alibaba's total revenue.

☆ Exclusive: China set to fine Ant Group over $1 billion, signalling revamp nears end-sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Julie Zhu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The central bank has been in informal communication with Ant about the fine over the past few months, said three of the sources. It plans to hold more discussions with other regulators about Ant's revamp later this year and announce the fine as soon as the second quarter of next year, said a source. Ant's fine would be the largest regulatory penalty imposed on a Chinese internet company since ride-hailing major Didi Global was fined $1.2 billion by China's cybersecurity regulator in July. The fintech firm's affiliate, e-commerce titan Alibaba Group (9988.HK), last year received a record fine of 18 billion yuan ($2.51 billion) for antitrust violations. The PBOC, however, is unlikely to formally disclose the application till Ant wraps up its revamp, added the sources.

☆ Moody's closing its consulting business in China, cutting staff -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The U.S.-headquartered credit rating firm started winding down the business, Moody's Analytics, in China this week, the people said on condition of anonymity as they are not authorised to speak to media. The move, first announced internally on Monday, has affected more than 100 employees across Moody's Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen offices, one of the sources said. Total headcount for the business unit could not immediately be ascertained. Moody's credit ratings business will continue to operate in the world's second-largest economy, the source added. Reporting by Samuel Shen in Shanghai, Georgina Lee and Selena Li in Hong Kong; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: Kaisa delays offshore debt revamp talks on uncertain sector outlook
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Clare Jim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The second-largest U.S. dollar bond issuer among Chinese developers after China Evergrande Group (3333.HK), Kaisa has been in the process of restructuring its $12 billion offshore debt after defaulting on some bonds last year. Kaisa is among a growing number of Chinese developers to have defaulted on offshore debt obligations in the past year, including Evergrande, which is also working to firm up terms of debt restructuring negotiations with its bondholders. UNCERTAIN OUTLOOKThe delay in Shenzhen-based Kaisa's debt restructuring negotiations comes as many of its defaulting peers face growing pressure from bondholders to hasten revamp plans before the end of the year. Kaisa is "struggling with" a factor that also affects other developers, as the outlook for the property sector is not too clear, said one of the sources. Bondholders have grown impatient after Kaisa struggled to make repayments, and offered several financing solutions, aiming to advance talks.

☆ EXCLUSIVE Evergrande eyes onshore assets as sweetener for offshore debt restructuring -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Clare Jim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Once China's top-selling property developer, Evergrande has been at the centre of a deepening property debt crisis that has seen multiple developers default on offshore debt obligations over the past year, leaving many negotiating debt restructuring. Evergrande's $22.7 billion worth of offshore debt, including loans and private bonds, is deemed to be in default after missed payment obligations late last year. Chinese developers including Evergrande - the world's most indebted - typically have few assets abroad that can be used in offshore debt restructuring. It said it expected due diligence work on the group to be completed soon after the update, and aimed to announce a specific restructuring plan before year-end. Evergrande and bondholders are now trying to determine what onshore assets could be offered as credit enhancement, the two people said.

☆ Exclusive: Evergrande eyes onshore assets as sweetener for offshore debt restructuring
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Clare Jim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING/HONG KONG, Nov 18 (Reuters) - A slew of recent supportive measures will bring China's cash-strapped property developers much needed relief, but a full recovery of the sector will be hobbled by increasingly elusive buyers, say bankers, developers and analysts. "These policies will have little lasting effect and the property prices will not go up significantly," said Jack Yang, an engineer in Beijing, noting "future income" had become a key concern for homebuyers. Despite the recent liquidity-boosting measures, some bankers say developers continue to face credit risks given the uncertain outlook. According to UBS, Chinese banks have roughly 88 trillion yuan ($12.43 trillion) worth of exposure to the property sector. It estimates the property sector downturn will cost the banking system up to 1.4-1.5 trillion yuan in the next few years, mainly from potential losses in banks' unsecured property development loans, bonds, and non-standard assets.

HONG KONG/WASHINGTON, Nov 16 (Reuters) - U.S. regulators gained "good access" in their review of auditing work done on New York-listed Chinese firms during a seven-week inspection, four sources with knowledge of the matter said - a key step forward in resolving a long-standing bilateral dispute. Inspectors with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) conducting the inspection in Hong Kong gained all the information they requested, one of the sources said. They were also allowed to print out some documents to more easily review information despite some initial hesitancy from Chinese officials, the source said. Authorities in China have long been reluctant to let overseas regulators inspect local accounting firms, citing national security concerns. Reporting by Xie Yu and Julie Zhu in Hong Kong, Chris Prentice in Washington; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Edwina GibbsOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ In China's property crisis, global asset managers see opportunity in rental housing
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Clare Jim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The state push is also backed by potentially lucrative returns - depending on the business model, returns on rental housing projects could be between high single digit and high teens. According to consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, the size of the rental housing market in China is expected to increase to 2.7 trillion yuan ($372.25 billion) by 2026, after rising to 1.8 trillion yuan in 2021 from 1.2 trillion yuan in 2017. Warburg Pincus also sees more opportunities in the rental housing because of increasingly attractive asset prices and less competition from cash-strapped local developers. As part of that, regulators have asked trust companies to provide financing to developers for rental housing construction and acquisitions. Across cycles, investment demand may have been affected but not overall housing demand," said Warburg Pincus' Zhang.

HONG KONG/SYDNEY, Nov 15 (Reuters) - The fintech arm of Chinese e-commerce firm JD.Com (9618.HK) aims to win Beijing regulators' approval to list in Hong Kong as soon as the end of the year, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said, after a first attempt failed earlier this year. Reuters reported in May that JD Tech's original plan for a Hong Kong IPO was put on ice because it could not get regulatory approval for the deal to proceed. As a domestically incorporated company, JD Tech - JD.Com's fintech, cloud and artificial intelligence unit - needs approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to list offshore, including in the Chinese-controlled territory of Hong Kong. JD Tech, which was hived off as a separate unit in mid-2017, had appointed several banks to work on the IPO, but progress had slowed as it failed to win regulatory approval first time around, sources have previously told Reuters. read moreReporting by Julie Zhu and Kane Wu in Hong Kong and Scott Murdoch in Sydney; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Kenneth MaxwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Two investment banks have been tapped to launch a sale process for Singapore-headquartered MedTech, which could be valued at roughly $1 billion, two of the sources said. All the sources declined to be named as news of the sale process has not been made public. A Temasek spokesperson declined comment, while there was no immediate comment from an external spokesperson for Advanced MedTech. Advanced MedTech, which earns the majority of its business from the United States, is one of the few companies that is fully-owned by Temasek, which ranks among the world's biggest investors. The sources expect private equity firms, healthcare-focused funds and strategic investors to put in bids for Advanced MedTech.

More than a dozen Chinese companies have unveiled plans to follow suit, according to exchange filings. The China-Switzerland Connect allows Chinese companies to raise capital by issuing and listing GDRs on Swiss bourse SIX. Swiss firms can issue Chinese Depository Receipts on the Chinese exchanges. She said UBS is also discussing with Chinese firms about listing in Frankfurt once rules are in place, so "our GDR mandates will keep coming". Despite the brighter prospects, deal sizes have been comparatively small, with Gotion's $685 million Swiss listing the biggest so far under the Swiss connect scheme.

☆ Factbox: What are FTX's investors saying?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Here's what investors in FTX are saying now:SOFTBANKThe total investment of SoftBank Group Corp's (9984.T) Vision Fund in the U.S. and international operations of FTX is less than $100 million, a source close to SoftBank said on Friday. The complications at FTX mark the latest difficulty for the Vision Fund, which has been hit in recent quarters by a global tech rout. SEQUOIA CAPITALSequoia Capital said on Wednesday that it would mark down its total investments in FTX to $0. ONTARIO TEACHERS PENSION PLANThe Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP) said on Thursday it had invested a total of $95 million in FTX. CIRCLEFintech company Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire said in a tweet on Wednesday that "Circle is a tiny equity holder of FTX, and FTX is a tiny equity holder of Circle."

HONG KONG, Nov 5 (Reuters) - U.S. audit watchdog's onsite inspection of the audit work of New York-listed Chinese companies, which started in Hong Kong in September, has ended, three people with knowledge of the matter said, raising hopes of a resolution of a long-pending dispute. The inspection started in Hong Kong after the two countries signed a pact in August to resolve a dispute that threatened to exclude more than 200 Chinese companies, including tech giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (9988.HK), from U.S. exchanges. Reuters reported in August that U.S. regulators had picked a number of U.S.-listed Chinese companies, including e-commerce groups Alibaba and Yum China Holdings Inc for onsite audit inspection. U.S. regulators have for more than a decade demanded access to audit papers of U.S.-listed Chinese companies, but Beijing has been reluctant to let U.S. regulators inspect its accounting firms, citing national security concerns. Reporting by Xie Yu and Julie Zhu in Hong Kong; additional reporting by Chris Prentice in Washington; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee, Louise Heavens and Jane MerrimanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Search resuls for: "Sumeet Chatterjee"

25 mentions found