The Standard – A US$200 million (HK$1.56 billion) investment by The Children’s Investment Fund (TCI) in local property developer Chinese Estates Holdings this week is unlikelyto be the last foray into Hong Kong property stocks by the British-based hedge fund, analysts said.
Even so, the latest move will probably create a smaller splash than the fund’s earlier investments in Link REIT and New World Development.
“Investors are becoming more skeptical about the impact created by TCI and other hedge funds,” Tung Tai Securities associate director Kenny Tang said. “They realize the shares could rise quickly in anticipation that the hedge funds might increase their holdings, but they are also wary of the potential for sharp falls when these hedge funds exit the market.”
Chinese Estates chairman Thomas Lau and another investor are selling to TCI a combined stake of up to 10 percent in the company for US$200 million. The deal values Chinese Estates shares at HK$8.33 each, a 3.1 percent discount to the company’s last traded share price of HK$8.60 Monday.
