Cheung Kong on track for 2,065 home pre-sales this year in Hong Kong
Cheung Kong Property Holdings plans to speed up its new project launches in Hong Kong with more than 2,000 units to be put on sale in six projects this year, up from just two projects in 2016.
Together with projects put on sale in mainland China and Singapore, CK Property will offer more than 5,000 flats for sale this year.
Justin Chiu Kwok-hung, executive director of CK Property said he had confidence that the company is doing better in terms of property sales than last year and predicted property prices in Hong Kong to fluctuate within a band of 10 per cent.
“As interest rates remain at relatively low levels, we expect Hong Kong’s property market to be stabilised,” he told a press conference on Thursday.
CK Property’s diversification into non-property investment has raised concern about its share performance. JP Morgan’s analysts said in a note that CKP’s share price could be subject to selling pressure, due to the risk it may have to buy all of Australian electricity and natural gas distributor Duet group.
CK Property shares fell 0.57 per cent to close at HK$52.10 on Thursday, even as Li outlined a plan to spend HK$183.3 million buying its shares at HK$50 to HK50.80 on Tuesday. The repurchase plan came after Li announced on Monday that a consortium of three listed companies he controls, CK Property, Cheung Kong Infrastructure and Power Assets, would buy Australian energy company Duet Group in a deal worth A$7.53 billion (HK$43.8 billion).
CK Property said its planning to release 2,065 units from six projects in Hong Kong, while another 229 flats will be added from remaining stocks. In 2016, it released two new projects, The Zumurud near Ho Man Tin and La Mansion in Yuen Long.
When asked how he would deal with aggressive mainland property developers in competing for development sites sold at government tender, Chiu said he would not worry about that too much as there would always be competition.
“It proves that mainland companies are becoming more competitive and also seeking for more diversified projects outside of China,” Chiu said.
Goldin Financial Holdings, a mainland developer, outbid five local companies for an MTR Corp residential project in December last year, showing that the government-owned transport group no long viewed its developement projects as the exclusive domain of local property companies.
CK Property’s 970-unit Ocean Pride development adjacent to West Rail’s Tsuen Wan West Station is the biggest project being offered for pre-sale this year, followed by the 454-unit Seanorama in Ma On Shan. The others are a 378-unit from its development at Oil Street, North Point and 67-villa Cresendo development in Yuen Long.
Meanwhile, Henderson Land Development said on Thursday it would release 1,600 units in seven new projects this year. The developer reported HK$20 billion in sales in 2016.
