R&F Properties’ Australian unit pays fine to settle dispute

Chinese developer R&F Properties said a legal dispute involving an investment in Australia, which almost sent its local subsidiary into liquidation, had been resolved after payment of a fine.

R&F Mega Property, an arm of the Hong Kong-listed and Guangzhou-based developer, which owns a high-profile residential project in Brisbane, was ordered to be wound up by the Supreme Court of the state of Victoria earlier this month. A Deloitte partner was appointed as liquidator, The Australian newspaper reported.

“The problem was settled, and the company will not be liquidated,” Michael Lee, corporate finance director at R&F Properties, told the South China Morning Post in a phone interview.

Without elaborating, Lee said the dispute had been caused by miscommunication with creditors. However, he did confirm that the unit has paid tens of thousands of Australian dollars as a fine to settle the case.

R&F Properties has been one of the most active Chinese developers in buying global properties. Apart from projects in Malaysia and Korea, Australia has been the company’s key target and it currently owns four projects in the country.

R&F Mega Property made a splash in 2014 when it paid A$46 million (US$35.2 million) – more than double the price the previous owner paid a year earlier – for a 4,600 square metre development site in South Brisbane.