Sino Land has acquired a small residential site in Shamshuipo, marking the second redevelopment site the firm has won from the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) this year. The group beat 15 other developers, believed to include Wharf (Holdings) and Cheung Kong (Holdings), in a public tender for the 14,900-square-foot site at Fuk Wing Street. The tender price was not disclosed. The purchase comes five months after the company bought a large housing site in Tsuen Wan, also tendered by the URA. In February, Sino Land bid $266 million in a private tender for a site at 53 Conduit Road, Mid-Levels. General manager Mark Hahn said the firm would develop the Shamshuipo site into a residential-commercial project. He did not give the investment amount but property agents estimated it at $500 million to $600 million. The site, expected to comprise 204 units, will provide a maximum gross floor area of 134,000 sqft, of which 111,700 sqft is for residential use and 22,300 sqft for retail space. Midland Realty predicts the selling price of the units, to be completed in 2008, will be $4,500 per square foot. Macquarie Securities analyst Eva Lee said: 'The site is relatively small and it is unlikely to have a substantial impact on Sino Land's earnings. But at least it confirms the company has an optimistic outlook on the property market.' Developers have been vying for urban sites to take advantage of an expected shortage of new homes by 2007. Under the chairmanship of Singaporean Robert Ng Chee Siong, Sino Land had until recently earned a reputation for being one of the most aggressive developers in Hong Kong by acquiring sites at above-market prices. In March 1997, it paid a record $11.8 billion for a 275,472 sqft residential site in Siu Sai Wan, now housing the Island Resort project. But Ms Lee said Sino Land was keen to change its aggressive image. 'We have no idea how much Sino Land has agreed to pay for the URA sites. But we have noticed it has become more rational in its bidding.' The market welcomed the change in strategy. Shares of Sino Land have risen 29 per cent to $5.75 in the past three months. In May, Cheung Kong won the Ma On Shan waterfront site on Ning Tai Road for $2.09 billion. The figure was 73.3 per cent above the opening bid. In June, Chinachem Group won the Kowloon City site for $1.01 billion, 48 per cent higher than the opening bid. BNP Paribas Peregrine estimated Sino Land's profits for the year to June would reach $1.02 billion. That excludes a potential $500 million provision for a damages award to Hang Lung Properties over a legal issue involving the Bay Bridge hotel at Yau Kon Tau, Tsuen Wan. Sino Land will announce its final result on September 23.
