Hopewell banks on Wan Chai land revaluation gain
Infrastructure company hopes to reap HK$2 billion over next few years from revaluation of site for new commercial Hong Kong Island project
Hopewell Holdings aims to book a land revaluation gain of HK$2 billion over the next few years from its new project, Hopewell Centre II.
Hopewell managing director Thomas Jefferson Wu said the estimated market value of Hopewell's portion of the site on which the project will be built was HK$4.1 billion.
Since the historical book value of the land share was HK$500 million, HK$3.6 billion of value would be unlocked, of which HK$2 billion would be booked into the Hong Kong-listed firm's financial statements in the next few years, Wu said.
He said Hopewell would inject HK$4.55 billion into the centre's construction from next year to 2015. "Our major focus in the near future will be Hopewell Centre II."
Construction on the project, which has a total investment budget of HK$9 billion, is expected to get under way later this year and be completed in 2018. The 55-floor tower will have a total gross floor area of 101,600 square metres, and is expected to include a conference hotel with 1,024 guest rooms.
When completed, the value of the centre will be HK$18 billion, Kim Eng Securities estimates.