Exclusive | Tencent founder Pony Ma’s Shek O property quadruples in value
In 2009 Ma paid HK$480 million for the 8,000 sq ft mansion at Big Wave Road, now worth an estimated HK$1.9 billion
Pony Ma Huateng, the co-founder of Tencent Holdings, is an astute investor.
The online games company he founded 18 years ago and took public in 2004 has produced a staggering return for shareholders of more than 60 times.
Still, there’s at least one investment that Tencent’s shareholders won’t be able to enjoy.
That’s Ma’s private property at 13 Big Wave Road in Shek O, on the southeastern tip of Hong Kong island. That property, which includes an 8,000 square foot (743 square metres) mansion, is valued at HK$1.9 billion (US$245 million), about four times what he paid for it eight years ago.
Ma bought it in 2009 from Wak Kwong Shipping’s chairman George Chao for HK$480 million. He later applied to redevelop the house – visible from the Dragon’s Back hiking trail above Shek O – into a three-storey property with a saleable area of about 19,600 sq ft.
