Media firm's shares soar as it cashes in on bullish property market to secure the price for its Kowloon Bay headquarters
Sing Tao News Corporation's sale of its Kowloon Bay headquarters for $370 million saw the company's share price shoot up 70 per cent at one stage yesterday.
Soon after trading opened, the share price leapt from 38 cents to 65 cents before ending the day at 43 cents, 13 per cent higher on the day. The building sale brought the firm an accounting profit of about $190.89 million as it cashed in on the bullish commercial property market.
'The value of industrial properties in the vicinity of Kowloon Bay in general has risen to a record level. The sale will enable the group to unlock the potential redevelopment value of the building site,' said Sing Tao in a written announcement.
Occupying a 44,714 sq ft site at No1 Wang Kwong Road, Kowloon Bay, the eight-storey industrial building comprised a gross area of 277,000 sq ft, said Kent Fong Chi-kit, director of DTZ Debenham Tie Leung's investment department, which brokered the deal.
'The transaction price translates into an accommodation value of about $1,000 per square foot,' he said, adding that the redevelopment cost for an office project would be capped at about $1,000 per square foot.