Executives of Chinese companies, flush with stock market gains, eye Hong Kong’s ritziest addresses

Executives picking up slack from reduced expat compensation packages, says Pokfulam Development’s Chin-yee Wong

The city has recorded several big deals in the luxury residential market recently, despite rising unemployment

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Wong Chin-yee, the general manager of Pokfulam Development, poses with architect Jackson Wong’s original 1950s blueprint of The Cove at 4 Headland Road. Photo: Jonathan Wong

Published: 8:30am, 23 Mar 2021Updated: 9:53am, 23 Mar 2021

Executives of mainland Chinese companies that are either listed or have a presence in Hong Kong are beginning to have a bigger influence on the city’s luxury homes rental market.

“Up until a few years ago, we received few enquiries from mainland Chinese clients. Now, out of every 10 enquiries, two to three are from people with roots on the mainland. And they are venturing beyond The Peak area,” said Chin-yee Wong, general manager of Hong Kong property investment company Pokfulam Development.

Demand for such homes has witnessed a decline recently, as companies cut compensation packages for senior expat executives, as well as because of economic dislocation created, first, by Hong Kong’s anti-government protests, and then the coronavirus pandemic.

“What we do see is that some of that fallen demand being picked up a little bit by money from the mainland,” Wong said.

He added that luxury rents were steadying after rising and had limited growth potential because of border closures, which had kept some investors and demand out of the market.

Moreover, multinational companies had reduced their compensation packages, and “even if they still have some management-level people coming here, housing allowances will shrink”, Wong said. At the same time, the number of expats in Hong Kong had reduced, but its rental housing supply remained the same, which meant these high-flying executives were in a position to choose, he added.