Mr Shum's Cypress Group teamed up with Askar Capital, an investment company from Iceland, in September last year to acquire the 24-year-old twin houses at 26-28 Horizon Drive for HK$120 million. The firms renovated the houses and launched them in the market recently.

The saleable areas of the two houses are 3,061 and 3,722 square feet. The price of the project's saleable area is HK$51,599 per square foot.

The project, which boasts a Chung Hom Wan sea view, has a swimming pool with underwater audio system and six covered car parking spaces.

The twin houses come in four and five en suite bedrooms with modern classic and European styles.

'Most Hong Kong people who can afford a house worth more than HK$300 million already own houses,' Mr Shum said. He expects potential buyers of the project to include manufacturers, mainland entrepreneurs and ambassadors.

Horizon Drive is the first joint venture project of Askar Capital and Cypress Group in Hong Kong. The consortium has also bought four luxury residential projects in Island South and a serviced apartment project at Tung Shan Terrace since the second half of last year.

Mr Shum is optimistic about the luxury residential market in Island South, saying property prices there are far lower than on the Peak. He expects prices in the area to rise, as prices on the Peak have risen significantly in the last few years.

A unit at Severn 8, a row of luxury homes on the Peak developed by Sun Hung Kai Properties, sold for HK$41,099 per square foot last month, a record for Hong Kong property prices.

Home prices ranged from HK$10,000 to HK$25,000 per square foot in Chung Hom Kok, agents said.

Strawberry Hill on the Peak and Redhill Peninsula in Island South are two major villa projects on Hong Kong island

Colliers International data show that prices at Strawberry Hill reached HK$20,000 per square foot in February this year, 12 per cent higher than the top price at the crest of the property market in 1997. But prices at Redhill Peninsula are about HK$12,300 per square foot, down more than 23 per cent from the peak in 1997.

Koh Keng-shing, managing director at Landscope Surveyors, says property prices on the Peak are higher than those in Island South due to the area's low-density environment, its Victoria Harbour view and proximity to Central.

Mr Shum plans to expand Cypress Group's investment in serviced apartments. The firm paid HK$95 million for a residential building at 5Tung Shan Terrace in May. All 12 units will be converted into serviced flats.

The consortium last year bought 68 units at One Central Residences in Macau for HK$782 million, or HK$4,400 per square foot. The units will be leased after completion.

Record breaker

The asking price for the twin houses in Chung Hom Kok, in HK$350m