City Developments Limited (CDL) has appointed Deloitte & Touche as its external financial advisor on Nov 4.
The financial advisory services company will assist CDL in further evaluating and reviewing its 51.01% joint venture equity investment in China-based Sincere Property Group, it says in a Nov 4 statement.
CDL says its investment in Sincere, which was completed in April 2020, is a “strategic investment” which provides the group with an established platform comprising different asset classes across 18 cities in China.
On April 15, CDL announced the 51.01% acquisition of the property group for an initial investment of RMB4.39 billion ($0.88 billion), making CDL the single largest shareholder in Sincere Property.
See: City Dev to acquire 51.01% joint controlling interest in China’s Sincere Property Group for $0.88 bil
Sincere is ranked among the top 100 developers in China by the country’s real estate association. It is also one of the top 10 business park developers and operators.
CDL says it mandated the evaluation and review due to the challenges relating to Sincere’s liquidity position following the Covid-19 outbreak and new measures to further tighten liquidity for real estate companies in China.
The findings are expected to be finalized before the end of 2020.
On Oct 21, Kwek Leng Peck, who is the cousin of Kwek Leng Beng, CDL’s executive chairman, has resigned from the board citing disagreements with the group’s investment in Sincere Property.
See also: Citing disagreements over investment in China, Kwek Leng Peck quits CDL's board and Is CDL oversold following the family disagreements over Sincere and M&C?
As at 2.31pm, shares in CDL are trading 4 cents lower or 0.6% at $6.40.