Billionaire chairman of indebted property firm Goldin, Hong Kong ‘shop king’ among investors disposing of assets on the cheap to pay debt

Billionaire Pan Sutong of Goldin Financial takes out second and third mortgage on Deep Water Bay home

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Pan’s 13,854 sq ft home in Deep Water Bay cost him HK$2.5 billion in 2017. Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Published: 8:30am, 23 Jul 2020Updated: 9:55am, 23 Jul 2020

Two of Hong Kong’s tycoons have joined the ranks of investors needing to raise funds to meet their debt obligations.

Billionaire Pan Sutong, the chairman of the Goldin Financial Holdings, is putting his own property on the market while seeking help from his famous wealthy neighbour to survive a liquidity crunch at the development company that recently walked away from one of the city’s biggest land deals.

Pan has taken out a second and third mortgage worth a total of HK$600 million (US$85.6 million) on a home he owns in Hong Kong’s ritzy Deep Water Bay neighbourhood. He signed two loan agreements with the Bank of Communications in April and May, according to Land Registry documents that were revealed on Wednesday.

Cash-strapped investors across the board have faced challenges in repaying mortgages and loans because of falling rental incomes generated from homes, offices and shops, amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has cooled investment sentiment.

Pan Sutong’s home in Hong Kong’s ritzy Deep Water Bay neighbourhood. Photo: Google Maps

A stone’s throw away from the home of Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, the 13,854 sq ft home cost Pan HK$2.5 billion, or HK$156,000 per square foot, in 2017.