Hong Kong luxury property market boost as site in Ho Man Tin sells for HK$6.38 billion, at high end of analysts’ forecasts
Goldin Financial’s total investment cost expected to exceed HK$10 billion
A luxury site in Ho Man Tin has been sold for HK$6.38 billion, towards the upper end of analysts’ forecasts.
The Lands Department announced on Wednesday that the tender for a site at Sheung Shing Street, Ho Man Tin, had been awarded to Goldin Financial. The Hong Kong-listed developer, with properties mainly in mainland China, beat out 12 large and small Hong Kong and mainland developers, including Sun Hung Kai Properties, Henderson Land Development and Shimao Property.
“It is a good sign for the luxury sector in the district, and the price tag indicates the winning developer’s confidence in the market,” said Thomas Lam, head of valuation and consultancy at Knight Frank. He had predicted the site would fetch between HK$5.3 billion and HK$6.5 billion.
It is a good sign for the luxury sector in the district
Total investment cost of the 97,700 sq ft site, which will provide a total floor area of 586,000 sq ft, is expected to exceed HK$10 billion. Units at the project could sell for more than HK$20,000 per square foot, Lam said.
Goldin Financial is chaired by Pan Sutong, who jumped to sixth position on the Hong Kong rich list in January, from 11th last year, according to Forbes magazine, as his net worth doubled to US$12.2 billion within a year.
The Guangdong-born Hong Kong businessman saw the shares of his Hong Kong-listed vehicles, Goldin Properties and Goldin Financial, soar in the first half of last year, at one point reaching a total market capitalisation of more than HK$300 billion. Both stocks subsequently plunged before ending the year on a high note.
Goldin Properties is building China’s tallest building, Goldin Finance 117, which will be the landmark construction project of Pan’s multi-billion-dollar Goldin Metropolitan development in Tianjin.
On Tuesday, China Cinda Asset Management said it had entered into a cooperation framework agreement to invest in the Goldin Metropolitan project.
Pan started out with a trading business handling Japanese brand Panasonic. His Goldin Group now also includes consumer electronics brand Matsunichi, which makes karaoke TV monitors and MP3 players, tablets and modems.
Analysts had revised down their forecast for the Ho Man Tin site, after the sale of a site in Tai Po last month.
The large government site in Tai Po sold for a surprisingly low HK$1,848 per square foot, or HK$2.13 billion, providing evidence that the government is willing to accept lower premiums to speed up land sales in the city.
