Has Alibaba's Jack Ma bought HK$1.5 billion home on Hong Kong's Peak?

A 9,890-square-feet luxury house at 22 Barker Road on The Peak is believed to have been sold for HK$1.5 billion, the world’s second most expensive in terms of per square foot - and talk is swirling that Alibaba founder Jack Ma may be the buyer of the house.

Francis Yuen Tin-fan, the former deputy chairman of PCCW and ex-chief executive of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, is selling the luxurious house for HK$150,000 per sq ft. 

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Yuen bought the 70-year-old house for HK$163.5 million in 2000. The four-storey house was built on a 33.500 sq ft site, formerly the residence of the Belgian consul.

On July 31, Rose Lee Wai-mun, the wife of Yuen, bought a flat at Opus Hong Kong in Mid-Levels for HK$375.4 million, according to Swire Pacific announcement. The 5,199 sq ft flat on the 6th floor is valued at around HK$72,201 per sq ft.

Lee, 62, is also an independent non-executive director at Swire Pacific and holds posts with Hang Seng Bank and HSBC. She will obtain a cash benefit of HK$28.15 million once the transaction finalises.

Businessman Ma, who founded the hugely successful e-commerce company Alibaba, is one of China’s richest men with an estimated net worth of more than US$22 billion.

This would not be the first time Ma has reportedly bought expensive properties overseas, after he quietly purchased a $23 million 28,100 square foot property in upstate New York with woodlands and a maple-syrup operation.