Friday, February 2, 2024

Chinese Reits having non-RMB debts

I was looking at Yuexiu Reit and found that majority of its debts are not in RMB but in HKD / USD. This implies that when RMB depreciates against USD, the reit will suffer from forex losses, unless the reit has hedged against forex movements in advance. 

Yuexiu Reit's financial expenses had rose from $400mil rmb in FY2021 to $1,500mil rmb in FY2022 and the increase was mainly due to forex losses (as RMB depreciates).

I looked at Hang Lung Properties and found that it has ~70% of its debt in HKD, despite it owning large number of Chinese properties. 

Sasseur Reit (listed in SG and owns retail outlet properties in China) has 46% of its debt in USD or SGD. 

I find it strange for Chinese reits or developers with mainly Chinese properties to have large non-RMB debts. I suspect that the lower interest rates (and lower interest payments) of non-RMB debts prior 2022 has made it attractive to issue debt in non-RMB. Especially since the benefits of lower interest rates can be quantified while the forex risks cannot be easily quantified. 




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