The misfortune of Chinese developer Kaisa could be good news for Hong Kong developers.
The property company is desperate to restructure its debts – with $3bn maturing over the next 12 months – but its bondholders seem less keen. Last week they voted down plans to exchange $400m of notes due next week for new ones maturing in 18 months.
The only way out now seems to be even more fire sales of land.
Last week, Kaisa priced a rare residential plot in Kai Tak, the harbour-front site of the former airport, to Hong Kong peers at a 20% discount to its audited value of $1.2bn. More bargains are likely to follow.
