Lai Sun Development has made its first land purchase in Hong Kong in almost 10 years through a joint venture with AIG Global Real Estate Investment (Asia) to buy a residential site in Wan Chai for HK$595 million.
The 50-50 venture has paid an initial deposit of HK$297 million for the Wood Road site and will pay the rest by the middle of this month.
It was Lai Sun's first acquisition of a development site in the city since the Furama Hotel in 1997, an investment that became a big liability due to the Asia financial crisis.
It is the second time Lai Sun has partnered AIG after they developed the AIG Tower in Central, on the former site of the Furama Hotel. Lai Sun has sold most of its hotel site stake to Singapore's CapitaLand and AIG to help cut debt.
Total investment cost for the Wan Chai project was estimated at HK$920 million.
The 10,807 square foot site near the Wan Chai Park and Vocational Training Council Tower is occupied by eight 47-year-old buildings. The buildings will be redeveloped into a residential block providing about 110 units with a gross floor area of 120,040 square feet.
