HNA unit to sell two Hong Kong sites to Henderson Land for $2 bln (updated)

Tysan Holdings

13/02/2018 01:04

(Adds Cayman Island funds, details on Hong Kong property market 
and HNA background in paras 3, 6, 7, 8, 9) 
    HONG KONG, Feb 13 (Reuters) - A unit of China's HNA Group 
 HNAIR.UL , the cash-starved aviation-to-financial services 
conglomerate, said on Tuesday it was selling two Hong Kong sites 
to Henderson Land Development Co Ltd  0012.HK  for HK$16 billion 
($2 billion).     
    Completion of the deal for the land at Kai Tak, near the 
territory's former airport, was expected to be completed on Feb. 
14, Hong Kong International Construction Investment Management 
Group Co Ltd (HKICIM)  0687.HK  said in a statement to the stock 
exchange. 
    The sale would be conducted by two Cayman Island funds 
holding the rights to the sites, HKICIM said, in what is the 
latest in a series of measures taken by the Chinese conglomerate 
to address a liquidity crunch.  
    It gave no further details. 
    HNA Holding Group, through its subsidiaries, had won tenders 
 for the land in Kai Tak for about HK$14.2 billion in late 2016, 
a figure above market price. The sites were zoned for 
residential development.  
    The Asian financial hub has one of the most expensive 
housing markets in the world, with private home prices 
shattering historic records for 13 months in a row and rising 
almost 200 percent since 2008. 
    The sale comes as HNA faces financing strains following a 
$50 billion acquisition spree over the past two years, which has 
sparked scrutiny of its opaque ownership and use of leverage. 
    HNA has over the past few months focused on scaling back its 
offshore real estate investments, which Beijing has targeted 
with capital controls.  
    Group CEO Adam Tan has said the company would not invest in 
areas that were not backed by the central government. 
    Late last month, HNA said it had reached a deal to sell a 
building in Sydney for A$205 million ($166 million). 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N1PL2GR 
         
($1 = 7.8195 Hong Kong dollars) 
 
 (Reporting by Donny Kwok; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and 
Stephen Coates) 
 ((donny.kwok@thomsonreuters.com; +852 2843 6470; Reuters 
Messaging: donny.kwok.reuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: HKICIM GROUP HNA/