Large residential site in Tuen Mun draws 10 bids
Souring investment sentiment fails to dampen response to tender of 290,628 sq ft plot
A large residential site in Tuen Mun estimated to require an investment of up to HK$8 billion to develop attracted an enthusiastic response to its tender yesterday.
The Lands Department said it received 10 bids for the government tender of the 290,628 square foot site, Town Lot 541, in So Kwun Wat, Tuen Mun.
The response was slightly better than last month's nine bids received for a site located nearby.
"Stock volatility will not affect developers' appetite for land as the impact of the uncertainty in the share market is short-lived," said Thomas Lam, head of valuation and consultancy at Knight Frank.
The tender closed yesterday at noon, about the time when the Shanghai stock index had tanked 6 per cent as the government's measures to stabilise the market looked woefully inadequate to reassure panicky investors. The Hang Seng Index fell 0.8 per cent to close at 26,064.11 points.
The site attracted small as well as big developers. The bidders were Sun Hung Kai Properties; Cheung Kong Property Holdings; Henderson Land Development; Wheelock Properties; Paliburg Holdings and Regal International; Far East Consortium International; K&K Property; China Vanke. A consortium consisting of Sino Land, K. Wah International Holdings, Manhattan Garments (International) and Wing Tai Properties; and a joint venture of Emperor International and Grand Ming Group.
The site plot ratio is 2.9, meaning it can generate gross floor area of up to 841,745 sq ft. It is expected to fetch between HK$2.9 billion and HK$4.3 billion.