The offering is fully underwritten by Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, HSBC, and DBS.
Controlling shareholder Chow Tai Fook has irrevocably committed to take up its full entitlement and act as a joint lead underwriter.
As of June 2026, the developer’s total liabilities stood at about 1,433 billion Hong Kong dollars, with net debt reaching about 1,263 billion Hong Kong dollars. External capital talks involving Bain Capital and Blackstone collapsed before this equity launch due to disagreements over controlling stakes. The developer also reached a termination agreement regarding the 11 SKIES project with the Airport Authority Hong Kong.
About 34% of the net proceeds will early repay 10% of the outstanding principal on target bank borrowings.
Another 36% will service debt obligations, including priority notes, bank loans, interest payments, and deferred distributions on perpetual securities. The remaining 30% will support development project reserves and accelerate construction.
Management said that the rights issue is a prerequisite for securing the bank loan extensions.
Addressing market concerns regarding potential shareholder dilution and the steep share price discount, executive director and chief executive officer Huang Shaomei defended the structure during an online media briefing reported by TVB.
By taking up the underwriting responsibility with real money, the controlling shareholder is absolutely not trying to dilute or exploit minority shareholders, but rather to protect the company’s quality assets, without having to sell them at a low price and damage shareholder interests, said Huang Shaomei, executive director and chief executive officer of New World Development, according to RTHK.
Management pledged not to launch another rights issue within three years following the completion of this transaction, projecting that the company’s net gearing ratio will drop by 20 percentage points to 48.3%.
The extraordinary general meeting to vote on the rights issue is scheduled for Jan. 5, 2027, with trading of the rights shares anticipated to commence on Feb. 10, 2027.
