Chinese Estates builds 5pc stake in Evergrande for US$1.04b since April
Hong Kong developer now the second-biggest shareholder in the mainland’s top house builder
Chinese Estates Holdings, controlled by Hong Kong property tycoon Joseph Lau Luen-hung’s wife Chan Hoi-wan, has accumulated about 5 per cent of China Evergrande Group since April on the open market, it confirmed in a filing on Wednesday, for a total of HK$8.1 billion (US$1.04 billion).
The Hong Kong developer is now the second-biggest shareholder in Evergrande, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Chinese Estates, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, has acquired about 655.2 million shares in China’s largest property developer, according to the filing to Hong Kong stock exchange.
It did not specify the acquisition price of the shares over the period, but did express its optimism about Evergrande’s overall prospects.
Earlier this month, the Hong Kong developer said it would record a HK$2.3 billion gain from the sale of Shengjing Bank shares – which it bought from Evergrande last May – in the first half, and a HK$1.2 billion fair value gain from its stake in Evergrande.
Records from the Hong Kong exchange reveal that Fair Eagle Securities, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chinese Estates, traded a high volume of Evergrande shares from mid to late May, capitalising on a sharp rally in the share price of the mainland’s top house builder.
