National security law prompts more mainland firms to bid for Hong Kong land as China Vanke unit wins residential plot in Tai Po

The prediction by surveyors comes after a consortium including mainland giant China Vanke won a plot in Tai Po earmarked for over 1,000 flats

Mainland Chinese developers are likely to become more active buyers of Hong Kong land as local rivals back off amid political turmoil and recession

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The site on Ma Wo Road , pictured, will be developed into more than 1,000 flats. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Published: 8:15am, 30 Jul 2020Updated: 8:15am, 30 Jul 2020

Mainland Chinese developers, emboldened by the new security law, will become more active buyers of Hong Kong land as local firms back off amid political turmoil and recession, surveyors predict.

The forecast came as a mainland-based consortium won a parcel of land in Tai Po earmarked for over 1,000 “mid-to-low density” flats. It was the second plot to go to mainland developers this month following Beijing’s imposition of the new national security law in Hong Kong.

The consortium formed by Vanke Property (Hong Kong) and real estate company CNQC International Holdings agreed to pay HK$3.71 billion (US$478.69 million) for the site on Ma Wo Road in northern Hong Kong, the Lands Department said on Wednesday evening.

CNQC is the Hong Kong-listed unit of Qingjian Group, based in Qingdao in mainland China, while Vanke Property is a subsidiary of the mainland property behemoth China Vanke.

The winning consortium, called Wealth Honour Limited, was one of four potential buyers with capital from mainland China in a tender process that attracted 13 bids in total. That is slightly higher than would normally be expected for a Hong Kong land sale.

“Local developers have become more conservative” amid political uncertainty and the recession brought on by the coronavirus crisis, increasingly giving way to mainland-based firms, said Alex Leung, senior director at CHFT Advisory and Appraisal.

“Mainland [companies] will definitely be more active and have a high success rate at tender,” Leung said.

“Politically, mainland-based developers will not back off because they think the national security law will stabilise [the city]. They think the law is good, though the price offered is not too ambitious.”