A consortium led by National Electronics has made Hong Kong's biggest sale of office space this year.
The sale of the new grade A office building in Central for HK$4.88 billion is also the largest investment deal this year, and the cost is the highest per square foot yet achieved.
The 28-storey 50 Connaught Road Central building has a total gross floor area of about 175,000 sq ft. That means the buyer spent about HK$27,888 per square foot, beating the previous record set in February last year when the 20th floor at No 9 Queen's Road Central in Central sold for HK$27,507 per square foot.
National Electronics, which owns 20 per cent of the property, said the deal was slated for completion on June 25. A breakdown of the rest of the consortium was not available at press time. It is understood that Apollo Global Real Estate Management co-developed the building, which was completed in the second half of last year.
Market insiders are speculating that the building's buyer is the Agricultural Bank of China, which will reportedly keep part of the office space for its own use. The bank could not be reached for comment.
Property agents say the building's occupancy rate stands at about 75 per cent, with office rents of HK$90 to HK$130 per square foot.
The office floors available for lease are mainly upper floors.