Money

Soho China to increase bank loan

By Katrina Nicholas (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-06-24 13:17

SINGAPORE - Soho China Ltd, the developer whose founder and chief executive officer is billionaire Zhang Xin, increased a dual-currency term loan to $605 million from $400 million, a person familiar with the matter said.

Related readings:  Soho China extends buying spree with 3.2b-yuan deal  Soho's profit rose 10% in 2010, price gain forecast  Soho China first-half profit surges 136 times  Soho China says to buy properties

The three-year facility, denominated in US and Hong Kong dollars, was increased after a number of banks joined the lending group and final allocations are now being made, the person said, asking not to be identified because details are private.

Soho China is the biggest developer in Beijing's central business district with completed construction of about 2.3 million square meters of floor space in the country's capital as of last June and another 1.3 million square meters under development, according to its website. Zhang, born in 1965, founded Soho China with her husband, Pan Shiyi, its chairman, in 1995.

On June 1, the company said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange that it had agreed to pay 1.5 billion yuan ($231.3 million) for Ever Jump Investments Ltd, which owns the land use rights for a site in Shanghai near the Baoshan Road train station.

It was the eighth project Soho China acquired in Shanghai in less than two years, according to its website. In May, Soho China, which reported revenue of 18.2 billion yuan last year, said it plans to buy two office buildings in Shanghai for 3.2 billion yuan.

Bloomberg News