Hong Kong tycoon King Cho accumulates car parking spaces in Greater Bay Area betting on growth potential
- Dubbed the ‘king of car parks’, Hong Kong investor King Cho plans to spend over US$100 million to grow his portfolio of car parking spaces in bay area cities
- Market observers expect prices for car parking spaces in top bay area cities to rise between 5 and 8 per cent by the first quarter of next year
Among them is Hong Kong investor King Cho, who plans to spend up to 700 million yuan (US$102.7 million) by the end of this year to add 7,000 car parking spaces especially in Guangzhou, Foshan and Zhuhai to his portfolio.
The founder of Guangzhou-based Vision Property said he is waiting for border restrictions to be lifted before he puts his plan in motion. Over the past five years, Cho has built up a portfolio of some 3,800 parking spaces mainly in Guangzhou and Foshan that is currently worth between 800 million yuan and 1 billion yuan, earning him the nickname “king of car parks” in the Chinese media.
“Major [Greater Bay Area] cities [like] Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Foshan and Dongguan will see a rebound in transaction volumes and prices,” said Cho. In the fourth quarter, market activity will pick up and reach nearly 80 per cent of last year’s level after slowing down considerably in the first quarter, he added.
So far this year, only around 28,000 new car parking spaces have been sold in Guangzhou compared to around 59,000 last year as developers suspended sales of property projects because of the coronavirus outbreak, said Cho, who is also the chairman of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao-Bay Area Economic and Trade Association.