AirTrunk’s data centres may soon be under new ownership

Australia’s Macquarie Group and Canada’s PSP have set a plan in motion to sell their AirTrunk data centre business, with that story leading Mingtiandi’s headline roundup today. Also in the news, Warburg Pincus seeks to redeem its investment in Wanda’s shopping mall unit and Bank of America gives up floors at its Hong Kong headquarters.

Macquarie and Canada’s PSP Start AirTrunk Data Centre Sales Process

Australia’s Macquarie Group and Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board are starting a sales process for their AirTrunk data centre business, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

The pair sent non-disclosure agreements on Tuesday to potential buyers to sign ahead of a formal transaction process, the source said. Australian media reported that AirTrunk could be valued at up to A$15 billion ($9.8 billion) and a majority stake could be sold as part of the process. Read more>>

Warburg Pincus Said to Seek Redemption of Stake in Wanda Mall Unit

Warburg Pincus is seeking to redeem its investment in Dalian Wanda Group’s shopping mall unit, which has been trying to raise fresh funds after several failed attempts to list in Hong Kong in recent years, according to people familiar with the situation.

Warburg Pincus invested RMB 970 million ($135 million) for a minority stake in Zhuhai Wanda Commercial Management Group in 2021, when the company first filed for an initial public offering. With IPO efforts stalling, Zhuhai Wanda was then required to repay investors if it failed to list by the end of 2023. Read more>>

Bank of America Cuts HK Office Space, Fidelity to Lay Off China Staff 

Bank of America is cutting some office space at its headquarters in Hong Kong’s Central district, according to people familiar with the matter, underscoring the headwinds for the city’s commercial landlords.

The bank is letting go of one-and-a-half floors in Cheung Kong Centre, where its main office is, the people said. Read more>>

Loan Deadline Looms for China Life Canary Wharf Tower

China Life Insurance is in crunch talks with lenders to an office tower in Canary Wharf to help stave off the locality’s third potential major default, as the eastern financial district of London grapples with some of the city’s highest vacancy rates.

The landlord is in discussions with Lloyds Banking Group, which originally financed 10 Upper Bank Street before syndicating the vast majority of the debt to several Chinese banks, about a plan to avoid an event of default ahead of the loan’s maturity next month, people with knowledge of the negotiations said. Read more>>

HongKong and Shanghai Hotels Swings to Profit 

Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels swung to a net profit of HK$146 million ($18.6 million) last year after three years of losses and restarted a dividend payout with a final dividend of 8 HK cents.

This recovery was mainly attributed to China’s border reopening last February, and demand from mainlanders and locals supported the recovery of its business in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing. Its Peninsula Hotels’ revenue in these cities jumped by 51 percent, 54 percent and 63 percent to HK$1.04 billion, HK$460 million and HK$328 million respectively. Read more>>

Mainland Chinese Surge Into Hong Kong Property After Stamp Duties Scrapped

After a pandemic-induced lull spanning more than three years, mainland Chinese are snapping up homes in Hong Kong, accounting for up to a third of new property sales weeks after the city removed all additional stamp duties on foreign buyers.

The surge of mainland Chinese buyers into one of the world’s most expensive housing markets — reported by several property agents and developers — comes amid battered confidence in the mainland’s housing market due to a debt crisis and an uncertain economic outlook. Read more>>

China Builders Tackle Restructuring as Crisis Enters New Phase

China’s property-debt crisis has entered a new stage, as tensions have increasingly shifted to developers’ court battles with creditors over debt restructuring plans and the once-unthinkable consequence of liquidation orders.

At least 23 Chinese builders or related companies have so far received wind-up petitions in Hong Kong from creditors since the beginning of the real estate crisis, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. So far, at least five of them have been ordered to wind up. Read more>>

WeWork India Entering Chennai with 2,000-Seat Co-Working Centre

Coworking major WeWork India on Tuesday said it has entered Chennai market and has taken on lease 130,000 square feet (12,077 square metres) of office space in Chennai to open a new centre with a capacity of 2,000 desks.

In a statement, Bengaluru-based WeWork India said, it has taken on lease over 130,000 square feet of office space in the commercial building ‘Olympia Cyberspace’ developed by Olympia Group. Read more>>

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