On Oct 2, Ng Noi Hinoy, the spouse of Ho Bee Land : H13 0% executive chairman Chua Thian Poh, acquired 12,100 shares for a consideration of S$23,601. At S$1.95 per share, this marginally increased Dr Chua&rsquo s deemed interest in Ho Bee Land, which stands at 75.59 per cent. This followed Ng&rsquo s acquisition of 47,700 shares at S$1.85 apiece between Sep 12 and Sep 13, and 22,200 shares at S$1.87 each on Sep 23. 

On Sep 23, Ng Noi Hinoy, the spouse of Ho Bee Land : H13 -1.04% executive chairman Chua Thian Poh, acquired 22,200 shares for a consideration of S$41,514. At S$1.87 a share, this marginally increased Chua&rsquo s deemed interest in Ho Bee Land, which stands at 75.59 per cent. This followed Ng&rsquo s acquisition of 47,700 shares at S$1.85 a share between Sep 12 and 13.

The company says the deal paves the way for broader collaboration, exploring new avenues for strategic growth and development

 

HO BEE Land on Monday (Aug 12) agreed to sell a 49 per cent stake in its wholly owned subsidiary, HB Universal, at a consideration of S$134 million.

 

Completion of the deal is slated for Aug 21 this year.

 

HB Universal is a special purpose vehicle which holds Elementum, Ho Bee Land&rsquo s landmark biomedical life-science development, at 1 North Buona Vista Link.

 

The property is designed by architectural firm Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, and has a gross floor area of 445,300 square feet. Its sale consideration was based on an agreed property value of S$555 million for Elementum.

 

The buyer is a Singapore-incorporated company, Fermium 257, representing the interest of &ldquo a sovereign wealth fund&rdquo .

 

Checks by The Business Times showed that Fermium 257 is owned by Perpetual Capital VCC, an investment holding company described in Perennial Group&rsquo s FY2023 annual report as &ldquo principally backed by a sovereign wealth fund in the South-east Asian region&rdquo .

 

Perpetual Capital VCC is also a shareholder of Perennial Group and Perennial Singapore Investment Holdings.

 

Responding to queries from BT, Ho Bee Land said it was &ldquo unable to disclose the name of the sovereign wealth fund involved&rdquo in Elementum&rsquo s sale.

 

In a statement on Monday, Ho Bee Land&rsquo s chief executive Nicholas Chua said the deal represented a strategic partnership which &ldquo paves the way for broader collaboration, exploring new avenues for strategic growth and development.&rdquo

Higher capitalisation rates for the valuation of real estate developer&rsquo s two London properties help it return to profitability

 

REAL estate development and investment company Ho Bee Land : H13 +2.23% reported a net profit of S$8.8 million for the six months ended Jun 30, 2024, reversing a net loss of S$155.7 million in the same period a year ago.

 

Revenue for the half was up 48 per cent at S$230 million, from S$155.5 million in the previous corresponding period.

 

In a bourse filing on Monday (Aug 12), the group said that development property sales more than trebled to S$94.7 million, compared with S$29.9 million in H1 FY2023, driven by higher sales in Australia and Sentosa Cove in Singapore.

 

Fair value losses in its investment properties lessened to S$11.2 million from S$208.3 million a year ago. This was due to higher capitalisation rates adopted for the valuation of two London properties, while the valuation of its Singapore portfolio remained unchanged.

 

Cost of sales more than trebled to S$77.9 million from S$22.7 million in the prior year, as a result of higher sales. Income tax expense increased 27 per cent to S$25.5 million.

 

Earlier on Monday, the group announced that it would sell a 49 per cent stake in wholly owned subsidiary, HB Universal, at a consideration of S$134 million. Gain on disposal is estimated to be S$34.8 million.

 

HB Universal is a special purpose vehicle which holds Elementum, Ho Bee Land&rsquo s biomedical life-science development, at 1 North Buona Vista Link. The deal is slated to be completed by Aug 21, 2024.

Ho Bee Land has issued its inaugural green bond, a $160 million five-year fixed-rate unsecured green bond issued off the company&rsquo s $800 million multi-currency medium-term note programme.

 

The bond was distributed across a diverse range of investors, including institutional investors, private banks, corporations, and financial institutions in Singapore.

 

Net proceeds from the issuance will be used to fund or refinance eligible green projects under Ho Bee Land H13 0.54% &rsquo s Green Finance Framework, which has received a second party opinion rating of SQS2 from Moody&rsquo s, signalling the financing framework to be overall considered of very good sustainability quality.

 

DBS Bank acts as the sole green structuring advisor and global coordinator for this bond issuance, with DBS, OCBC and The Hongkong Shanghai Banking Corporation, acting as joint lead managers and joint bookrunners. 

 

Nicholas Chua, CEO of Ho Bee Land, says: " Ho Bee Land is committed to ensuring sustainability is embedded in our business and financial strategies, and this green bond issuance is a testament to our commitment. It allows us to diversify our funding sources and broaden our investor base while reinforcing our dedication to green building practices."

 

Clifford Lee, global head of investment banking at DBS, adds: &ldquo We are pleased to have supported Ho Bee Land as its sole green structuring advisor and global coordinator for its inaugural tap of Singapore&rsquo s green capital market. On the built environment front, we see growing demand for green financing as the industry recognises the role sustainable buildings play in securing a low-carbon future."

The net proceeds will be used to fund or refinance eligible green projects

 

HO BEE Land : H13 0% priced S$160 million in fixed-rate green notes due 2029 at 4.35 per cent, it said on Friday (Jul 5).

 

The notes fall under the real estate group&rsquo s S$800 million multi-currency medium-term note programme. Ho Bee expects to issue the notes on Jul 11, 2024 they mature on Jul 11, 2029.

 

Net proceeds from the issuance will be used to fund or refinance eligible green projects in Ho Bee&rsquo s green finance framework. This may include borrowings from banks, including the joint lead managers, who will receive a portion of the proceeds from the notes issue.

 

DBS is the sole global coordinator for the notes. DBS, OCBC and HSBC are the lead managers and joint bookrunners.

 

22 May 2024 19:07

 

AcroMeta&rsquo s 70%-owned subsidiary, Life Science Incubator (LSI), has signed a management agreement with Ho Bee Land H13 -1.09% &rsquo s subsidiary, HB Universal, to operate a co-working laboratory centre.

 

The agreement is for an initial period of six years with an option to renew for another six years by mutual agreement. It also comes on the heels of LSI&rsquo s recent expansion of its co-working lab space business.

 

Under the agreement, LSI will operate, manage, promote and market the co-working lab located at Elementum, One-North. LSI will also provide management and consultancy services for the business.

 

According to AcroMeta, the proposed project will triple the size of LSI&rsquo s co-working lab space operations in Singapore. The operations at Elementum will also be able to attract companies that require larger spaces for research and development (R& D). It will also enable LSI&rsquo s existing customers who want to expand their R& D activities to do so.

 

&ldquo Biomedical sciences is an integral part of Singapore&rsquo s future economy with its focus on high value-add industries. Co-working laboratory spaces allows small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups to kickstart their R& D without incurring initial high capital expenditure (capex). There is a rising number of SMEs and startups needing coworking laboratory spaces with specialized infrastructure to conduct their R& D to bring their innovative products to the market. That is where LSI comes in,&rdquo says Levin Lee, AcroMeta&rsquo s executive chairman.

 

&ldquo Having a working partnership with Ho Bee Land, a well-known and established property developer, would solidify the LSI brand of co-working laboratory spaces. This will position us for international expansion of the LSI brand that we are planning, as there is demand for co-working laboratory space in major cities and industrial hubs globally,&rdquo he adds.

 

Between Sept 7 and 12, CEO and executive director Nicholas Chua acquired 120,000 shares at an average price of S$1.840 per share. With a consideration of S$220,810 this took his direct interest in the pioneer developer from 0.46 per cent to 0.48 per cent.

 

For its H1FY23 (ended Jun 30), Ho Bee Land recorded a 19 per cent increase in profit from operations, before fair value changes, of S$159.9 million. Despite the strong operating performance, the group recognised a net loss after tax of S$155.7 million for H1FY23, compared to a net profit after tax of S$149.9 million in H1FY22.

 

This was primarily due to the unrealised fair value loss of S$208.3 million for the London portfolio and the higher interest costs of S$76.3 million in H1FY23 compared to S$33.2 million in H1FY22. Notwithstanding this, the group generated a net positive operating cash flow of S$77.4 million during the period.

 

Chua noted that the occupancy rate of Ho Bee Land&rsquo s commercial portfolio is above 95 per cent with its Sentosa Cove projects generating S$285 million in sales in the H1FY23.

 

He added that the group is on track to complete Elementum, its biomedical development at one-north, in Q4FY23, with the building approximately 90 per cent pre-committed and expected to contribute to the group&rsquo s revenue in FY24.

 

Headquartered in Singapore, Ho Bee Land has property investments and developments in Singapore, Australia, China, the United Kingdom, and Germany.

 

Chua was appointed CEO and executive director in January 2022. He joined the group in 2002 and held several senior management positions prior to his current appointment.

 

Over the past 20 years, he has been instrumental in leading the growth of the group&rsquo s development footprint in Australia and China, as well as the investment portfolio in Europe and the UK. As CEO, he is responsible for the development and implementation of the group&rsquo s overall strategies and policies, as well as the management of its development and investment portfolios.