Exclusive | Shanghai-owned Greenland to emerge as the white knight in Hsin Chong’s financial woes
Greenland Holdings, 46.4 per cent owned by Shanghai’s government, is in talks to take over control of Hsin Chong and its unit, using them as platforms for fundraising and for bidding for overseas projects along the belt and road plan
A construction company mostly owned by the Shanghai municipal government is in talks to take over control of one of Hong Kong’s oldest builders, using the listing status of Hsin Chong Group Holdings as the platform for fundraising and for bidding for infrastructure work along China’s belt and road project.
Greenland Holdings, 46.4 per cent owned by the Shanghai government, is in discussions to take over 100 per cent of Hsin Chong Construction Group, as well as the majority stake of its listed parent Hsin Chong Group Holdings, according to two people familiar with the negotiations, declining to divulge the value of the deal.
In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange earlier this month, Hsin Chong said it had entered into a memorandum of understanding with a potential buyer, without elaborating. The company’s spokesman could not be reached to comment. Greenland’s officials could not be reached to comment.
The discussion could mean a much-needed lifeline for Hsin Chong Group, which has been suspended from trading its stock on the Hong Kong exchange since April 2017 due to its financial woes.
The 79-year-old construction company, founded in Hong Kong by the Yeh family during the early years of the Second World War, has been involved in building many of the city’s most iconic landmarks, including the Ocean Park and the former Kai Tak Airport.
In recent years, it turned to building hotels in Macau, including the Sands, the Venetian Macau Resort Hotel, Four Seasons Macau Resort, Sands Cotai Central and the latest Parisian Macau.
Hsin Chong’s overseas construction portfolio included a railway project in Makkah in Saudi Arabia, and the Imperial Palace hotel casino in Saipan.