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Reclaimed land fetches record $4.7b

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Developers yesterday paid a record $4.725 billion for the first large tract of land to be auctioned off on the Hunghom Bay reclamation.

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The lot, designated for commercial and residential use, was snapped up by a Henderson Land/Sun Hung Kai consortium after 30 minutes of fierce bidding.

But they had to pay a record amount for Crown land offered at auction to see off rival bids from Sino Land, Paliburg Holdings, Cheung Kong (Holdings), CITIC Pacific and a joint venture led by Great Eagle Holdings and Manhattan Garments.

In 1982 Hongkong Land paid $4.755 billion for the Exchange Square site, but that was offered through sealed tender.

Henderson executive director Martin Lee Ka-shing, son of tycoon Lee Shau-kee, said the consortium would invest an extra $2 billion in construction on the Hunghom site, making the project worth nearly $7 billion.

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The Government netted a higher-than-expected total of $6 billion for the four sites on offer yesterday at the last public auction in the current land sales programme.

Sentiment was high as developers shrugged off concerns over the Taiwan-China standoff and showed confidence in long-term prospects for the property market, which has been showing signs of recovering after nearly two years in the doldrums.

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