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Kenneth Ko

THE office sale market remains uncertain, despite the confidence shown by Sun Hung Kai Properties in its purchase of a further five per cent of Central Plaza.

  Estate agents said the Central Plaza deal could reflect long-term optimism over prime office properties, but it was too early to predict a recovery in the sector.

  Office prices have been falling substantially since the middle of last year, and the short-term outlook is rather pessimistic.

  Sun Hung Kai Properties made the $712.27 million acquisition last week in a property swap deal with Ryoden Development, valuing Central Plaza at $14.24 billion, or an average of $10,175 per square foot.

  The purchase raises Sun Hung Kai Properties' interest in Hong Kong's tallest building to 50 per cent. The other half of the property is owned by Sino Land and the family of its chairman, Robert Ng Chee Siong.

  Hugo Poon, director of City Property Consultants, said the market still was plagued by uncertainties, and prices were likely to see further declines this year.

    Office prices and likely rents dropped in the first quarter of the year. City Property Consultants said prices in Convention Plaza, next to Central Plaza, were $11,000 per sq ft in March, down from December's $12,000.

  Sharpest falls were recorded in Lippo Centre and Nine Queen's Road Central. Lippo Centre fell to $9,600 per sq ft in March from about $12,000 per sq ft in December, and Nine Queen's Road Central fell to $13,000 per sq ft, down from December's $16,000.



Central Plaza deal fails to stir confidence in recovery