Donald Tsang Yam-kuen appears to have found the bargain of a lifetime, following disclosure by his landlord that he will be charging Hong Kong's chief executive only 80,000 yuan (HK$98,444) a month for his luxury apartment in Shenzhen despite spending more than 10 million yuan on its decorations and fittings.
The disclosure comes amid growing concern over benefits Tsang has received from tycoons - including extravagant yacht and private jet trips.
The three-floor, 6,500 sq ft penthouse has an outdoor garden and swimming pool. It is in Futian district, which has some of the most important buildings in Shenzhen.
The penthouse is in the East Pacific Garden complex, developed by Bill Wong Cho-bau - owner of a number of companies in Hong Kong and the mainland including East Pacific property group - and who is a delegate to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the mainland's top advisory body.
Wong is a major investor in Digital Broadcasting Company (DBC), a company linked to Arthur Li Kwok-cheung, a former member of Tsang's cabinet. Last month Hong Kong's government gave its approval for the former education minister to be appointed DBC's chairman. However, under the Telecommunications Ordinance, Li could have been barred from such a position, because his brother, David Li Kwok-po, Bank of East Asia chairman, is a director of another big media player, PCCW.
Albert Cheng King-hon - the founder of DBC and widely seen as a close ally of Tsang - rejected suggestions that Tsang might have leased the Shenzhen apartment at a discount, saying: '80,000 yuan is already a very high amount considering it is Shenzhen, not Hong Kong.'
But at that rate of rent, Wong will need at least 10 years to recover his decoration costs alone, though Tsang has signed a lease for only three years. He had paid a million yuan in advance for the first year, Wong said.
