Yang Huiyan, the richest woman in mainland China, is selling about 7 per cent of her stake in Country Garden Services Holdings to cash in HK$5.055 billion (US$649 million), according to a stock exchange filing.
Yang, chairwoman and a controlling shareholder of the mainland estate-management company, entered into a placing agreement with JP Morgan Securities on December 9 to sell 237 million shares to certain independent shareholders at HK$21.33 each. The sales will be conducted in a block trade in the secondary market, the filing on Sunday night said.
Representing 7.03 per cent of the total issued share capital of the company, the transaction will reduce Yang’s stake to 36.12 per cent from 43.15 per cent of the company, indicating she will remain as controlling shareholder.
The sale price represents an 11 per cent discount from Friday’s closing price of HK$23.95. The stock has lost 48.7 per cent of its value this year.
Country Garden Holdings’ Fengming Haishang residential development in Shanghai on July 12, 2022. Photo: Bloomberg
Yang’s estimated personal wealth is US$12.1 billion, according to Bloomberg data. In addition to her stake in Country Garden Services Holdings, Yang also controls 56.2 per cent of Country Garden Holdings, China’s second-largest developer by sales.
Country Garden spun off the estate-management unit in 2018, at which point it ceased to be a subsidiary of the developer. However, the two entities remain linked because Yang is the co-chair of the group and the daughter of founder Yang Guoqiang.
Country Garden Holdings on December 7 said it was seeking to raise at least HK$4.74 billion of fresh capital from a second equity placement within a month to capitalise on a threefold stock rally.
The company’s shares surged almost 200 per cent in November – the best performer among 76 Hang Seng Index members in a month where the index rose about 27 per cent, the most since October 1998.
Several developers including industry leader China Vanke and Sunac China Holdings have unveiled their refinancing plans in the onshore market after regulators lifted a six-year ban on equity fundraising last month to help struggling players complete their pre-sold projects.