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Hongkong Land posts US$170 mil in Singapore development property sales in 1Q2020

/ EdgeProp Singapore |

April 29, 2020 1:23 PM SGT

SINGAPORE (EDGEPROP) - Property developer Hongkong Land’s attributable interest in contracted sales of development properties in Singapore for 1Q2020 came in at US$170 million ($241 million), compared with US$116 million in 1Q2019. This is according to an interim management statement the company released on April 28.

In Singapore, it has two residential development projects through its subsidiary MCL Land, namely, Margaret Ville and Parc Esta. However, the group states that market sentiment in the country has become more cautious and construction activities have been suspended.

Rental reversions in its Singapore office portfolio were positive in the last quarter, but Hongkong Land says reversions will likely moderate for the rest of the year. Vacancy rate in its Singapore office properties increased to 5.5% at end-March, compared with 5% at end-2019.

Parc Esta was launched for sale last year. (Picture: EdgeProp Singapore)

Overall, the company’s performance last quarter was negatively affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and the measures taken to control it. This includes sales from its property development business and retail rents from its investment property business

But Hongkong Land says that its overall financial position remains strong, and it has sufficient liquidity to fund its ongoing commitments, including land payments for its recently secured project in the West Bund in Shanghai.

Its net debt at end-March was US$3.9 billion, climbing US$263 million from its position at end-2019. Committed liquidity after accounting for the West Bund land payment also stood at about US$2 billion, compared with US$3.2 billion at end-2019.

The group says it has sufficient liquidity to fund its recently secured project in the West Bund in Shanghai. (Picture: Pixabay)

In Hong Kong, its office portfolio recorded a vacancy rate of 4.3% at March 31, compared to 2.9% at Dec 31, 2019. The group’s Hong Kong Central retail portfolio saw vacancy increase to 1.4%, from 0.3% at end-2019.

On the Chinese mainland, Hongkong Land’s sales offices were closed, and construction was suspended for two months, but it says that these operations have since resumed. In 1Q2010, it raked in property development sales worth US$107 million compared with US$193 million in 1Q2019. The company says that sales activity continued to recover in April, although it “has not yet normalised”.

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