Vanke's “Slimming Plan” has made substantial progress.
According to the information announced by the Shenzhen Public Resources Exchange Center on May 27,$CHINA VANKE (02202.HK)$Shenzhen Railway and Shenzhen Baishuo Yinghai Company jointly bid for the right to use the T208-0053 parcel at the Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters base at a listing price of 2,235 billion yuan.
Regarding the transfer of the land mentioned above, Vanke told reporters, “This transaction is one of the company's initiatives to resolutely implement a slimming and fitness package.”
According to information, the plot was acquired by Vanke in December 2017. The land area is about 19,000 square meters. The nature of the land is mainly for commercial offices, etc. According to public information, the Shenzhen Bay Super Headquarters is one of the key development and construction areas in Shenzhen. It will become a gathering place for global headquarters enterprises and technology enterprises, promote the further concentration of global resources in Shenzhen, and promote the internationalization process of Shenzhen's city.
On May 8 of this year, according to information published by the Shenzhen Public Resources Exchange Center, Vanke listed the transfer of the right to use the above plot, starting at 2,235 billion yuan.
Vanke said that the completion of this transaction will help reduce the use of capital by non-main assets and focus on improving resources and strengthening the three main businesses. Shenzhen Railway Group participated in the competition for land use rights for the project, showing that the majority shareholders supported Vanke with real money in a market-based and rule-of-law manner. Vanke is strongly optimistic about Shenzhen and will continue to contribute to Shenzhen's industrial development and urban construction.
Industry insiders analyzed that the land in this transaction is mainly a commercial office and hotel. The self-ownership ratio is as high as 70%. Subsequent construction still requires a large investment of capital, and long-term operation and cultivation after completion to see results. For Wanke, which needs to focus resources on the development of the three main businesses, being able to complete transfers and promptly cash out the funds is clearly a reasonable and wise choice right now.
In fact, at the 2023 annual general meeting of shareholders of the company held on April 30, Yu Liang, chairman of Vanke's board of directors, made it clear that Vanke will launch a “slimming down” plan. Yu Liang said that the company has formulated a slimming and fitness package to coordinate debt reduction and high-quality development. Through firm slimming down, adjusting the financing model, and mitigating risks, the future will focus on the three major dominant businesses of integrated residential development, property services, and rental apartments, so that the company can return to a sustainable path and continue to lead the way in the new stage of real estate development.
On the issue of asset disposal, Vanke told reporters that promoting asset transactions is one of the business tasks that the company has always attached great importance to, and Vanke continues to actively promote related asset transactions. Earlier, Vanke also publicly stated at the annual report performance meeting that it will step up bulk transactions and equity transactions this year, with repayments of more than 30 billion yuan.
While Vanke is taking the initiative to “slim down,” it has also made a major breakthrough in financing.
On May 23, Vanke signed an agreement with leading financial institutions such as China Merchants Bank and obtained a 20 billion yuan syndicated loan. The collateral is Vanke's Wanwei Logistics shares. Up to now, it has received 10 billion yuan.
Industry insiders analyzed that this is the largest single real estate loan since 2020, and it can still receive such strong support under the current industry situation, which shows that Vanke's positive actions have been recognized by the market, and also reflects the financial institutions' full recognition and confidence in Vanke.
“This 20 billion syndicated loan will help the company further enhance its liquidity, reflecting the strong support of financial institutions such as China Merchants Bank for the company. The company has always maintained a good cooperative and trusting relationship with financial institutions, and all kinds of financing cooperation are being actively promoted. In the next step, the company will continue to act firmly, and has the confidence and ability to proactively and comprehensively complete the transformation of the financing model while properly handling maturing debts.” According to Vanke.
In fact, in addition to this syndicated loan, Vanke's positive actions have also been recognized by other financial institutions as well as investors and creditors.
On May 13, Vanke A announced that it applied for loans totaling 7.339 billion yuan from the Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank, and the Bank of Beijing. On May 16, Vanke also successfully issued a CMBS (Commercial Real Estate Mortgage Backed Securities) worth 1,435 billion yuan on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, further reducing overall financing costs. Meanwhile, on May 20, Vanke received another 1.2 billion yuan loan from the Bank of China.
In terms of sales performance, according to data released by Vanke, in April 2024, Vanke achieved a sales area of 1.643 million square meters and sales of 20.89 billion yuan; from January to April 2024, the company achieved a cumulative sales area of 5.554 million square meters, with sales of 78.87 billion yuan.