CapitaLand and CapitaMalls could prevail in China

OCBC rails against the negativity leveled on both companies' China strategy.

CapitaLand and CapitaMalls have been ramping up their exposure in the increasingly cooling China market, raising red flags among most equity markets.

But OCBC sees them playing the long game. Both companies are deemed to have strong liquidity that will help them grab opportunities that other cash-strapped companies cannot in a depressed China market.

Here's more from OCBC:

While the equity markets has been negative on bellwether Capitaland Ltd and CapitaMalls Asia Ltd for their increasing exposure to China (retail, office, residential, hospitality), we do not necessarily see this as a
negative development, given that these companies do not make residential property the key part of their focus, which is the target of home price restrictions and tighter credit measures introduced by the PRC government. Both companies have strong management and moderately-leveraged balance sheets, which should give them flexibility to exploit opportunities arising from the weaknesses of cashflow-constrained PRC peers. In addition, both companies’ liquidity positions are sufficient to repay maturing debt in the next three years.