Tsim Sha Tsui shop changes hands for HK$60m or HK$447,800 psf

Worries about a worsening economy did not deter at least one property investor, who set a new mark for the city's second-most expensive shop - in terms of price per square foot.

Ricky Yeung, the chairman of Jewellery City Group, recently bought a 134 sq ft store in Star House in Tsim Sha Tsui for about HK$60 million, said Tony Lo Chin-ho, a director of property agency Midland Shop. That comes to HK$447,800 per square foot.

Mr Lo said Mr Yeung, the younger brother of entertainment tycoon Albert Yeung Sau-sing, would hold the shop as a long-term investment.

The deal established the shop, which is about as large as two standard parking spaces, as the second-most expensive in the city in terms of unit price, and it is the highest in three years.

Property agents said that while there were no detailed surveys globally, the shop on a unit basis was likely to be one of the most expensive in Asia.

The Hong Kong record was set in March 2006, when a 40 sq ft unit at Mong Kok shopping centre SIM City sold for HK$515,000 per square foot.

The shop, located at the corner of Shantung Street and Sai Yeung Choi Street South, has been combined with the adjacent shop and the underground area and leased by a single tenant.