Soho China to increase bank loan

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.

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.