Prices of second-hand homes have increased for the first time in almost a year as the recent removal of cooling measures gave a much-needed boost to the beleaguered property market.

China could face a third wave of corporate bond defaults, induced by high financing costs, slow economic growth and tighter government policies, S&P analysts said. Local government financing vehicles may be the weakest link.

Hong Kong’s economic recovery is slowly filling up retail spaces, pushing vacancy rates to a three-year low. The rebound, however, is bypassing the northwestern part of the city in Yuen Long and Sheung Shui.

‘It’s overall a pretty outstanding location, and pretty outstanding locations will be successful,’ Christian Ulbrich says.

Property agents have raised sales forecasts for the year amid project launches at discounted prices, but say a lack of a rate cut could pare those estimates.

Philippine chain Hotel101 Global targets 1 million rooms and a presence in more than 100 countries after signing an agreement to merge with a Hong Kong company, which aims to list on Nasdaq in New York.

Rents in Singapore’s office market rose in the first three months of the year, shaking off two consecutive quarters of declines as some tenants snapped up limited premium spaces and others renewed their leases instead of relocating owing to cost considerations, according to Colliers.

The 99-room The Opposite House, the group’s first hotel, will close after 16 years to make way for an ‘innovative retail landmark’ in the Taikoo Li Sanlitun area.

‘Foreign investor appetite could not be stronger for Japan at the moment,’ JLL analyst says.

Hong Kong property sales rose to a 10-month high in March, surpassing 5,000 deals a month after the government lifted all property cooling measures, data from the government shows.

Hong Kong has been shut out of the rankings in a survey of innovation and concentration of talent in which cities in the Asia-Pacific region took five of the top 10 spots.

Trends are likely to cap any rental gains in the retail property segment, where recovery will proceed in a gradual manner, analysts say.

The lived-in home-price index fell 1.7 per cent in February versus 1.2 per cent in January, according to the Rating and Valuation Department. Prices have fallen for 10 months in a row, losing 13.7 per cent in value.

Embattled property developer Country Garden said it is injecting funds into an unfinished skyscraper project by introducing a new partner, an announcement which sent its shares soaring.

‘We are trying to overcome it, so that people will come back to Hong Kong and experience all of the good things it has to offer’, CEO Clement Kwok says. ‘That will take some time.’

Singapore continues to outrank Hong Kong – albeit by a single point – as the top financial centre in Asia, according to the latest edition of the semi-annual Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI).

The developer of Belgravia Place says it will launch 7,100 new homes this year, 5 per cent fewer than the 7,655 units offered in 2023. The firm reported flat underlying profit of US$1.2 billion last year.

‘There are only a few [international financial centres], and Hong Kong is one of them. It is hard-won. We must not lose this place,’ CK Hutchison and CK Asset chairman says.

US banking giant Bank of America plans to relinquish a big chunk of prime office space in Hong Kong as part of cost-saving measures, delivering a blow to the office segment.

A loan for China Vanke, one of China’s largest developers, could provide temporary relief to a sector rocked by defaults and by a court order for the liquidation of China Evergrande Group, the world’s most indebted developer.

The commercial property leasing market across most Asia-Pacific markets is improving, except in Hong Kong and mainland China where sentiment is particularly downbeat, according to CBRE.

Hong Kong’s current property market downturn is cyclical and not structural, with home prices set to decline by as much as 10 per cent this year as elevated interest rates keep demand in check, S&P says

Over the past two years, Japanese businesses have been the most active among foreign firms in terms of leasing retail spaces in Hong Kong, according to data compiled by JLL.

Conglomerate reports record profit of HK$36.2 billion (US$4.6 billion) for 2023, nearly eight times better than 2022’s HK$4.7 billion.

‘China faces considerable domestic challenges, from a sluggish property market to weak consumer sentiment, Wharf says. After a poor result in 2023, more time is needed to revive the property markets, it says.

Hong Kong’s hotels are looking at sporting, arts, consumer and entertainment events in the year ahead to drive tourist flows into the city

Harbour City and Times Square owner’s full-year 2023 profit fell 3 per cent to US$767.3 million even as revenue jumped 7 per cent. The company hopes to overcome headwinds through promotional activities with the Hong Kong government.

Goldin Financial Global Centre, the former headquarters of Chinese tycoon’s Goldin Financial Holdings in Kowloon Bay, has been renamed The Bay Hub.

Hong Kong’s largest developer by market capitalisation is being tipped by analysts to emerge as the ‘prime beneficiary’ of the city’s removal of all property cooling measures.

Watchmaker opens new multistorey shops in Central, Tsim Sha Tsui even as government predicts drop in tourism spending in 2024.