CK Asset to Redevelop Hung Hom Hotel as Offices and More Hong Kong Real Estate Headlines

Leading today’s Hong Kong real estate news, Li Ka-shing’s CK Asset applied to turn its hotel in Hung Hom to two office buildings, in order to capitalise on the growing demand for offices in the area. Also in the headlines, CK Asset rival Sun Hung Kai Properties got a HK$21 billion ($2.7 billion) loan from a group of banks, and Hong Kong’s de facto central bank wants you to get ready for mortgage rate hikes. All these stories and more await you, if you just keep reading.

CK Asset to Turn Hung Hom Hotel to a Pair of Office Buildings

Li Ka-shing’s Cheung Kong Asset Holdings has applied to turn one of its hotels in Hung Hom into two office buildings, as interest in the area’s commercial property among mainland firms increases.

The plan was made public on Thursday when Hong Kong’s Buildings Department released a batch of plans it approved in January. The hotel, Harbourview Horizon, could be redeveloped into two 29-storey office buildings with a total gross floor space of 1.1 million square feet. Read more>>

Sun Hung Kai Properties Secures HK$21B Loan From 16 Banks

Sun Hung Kai Properties got a five-year loan of HK$21 billion from a group of 16 local and international banks. The sum will mainly be used for daily operation, and to refinance some short-term debts.

Raymond Kwok said the company is optimistic on the outlook of Hong Kong and mainland China. He added that Sun Hung Kai Properties has a number of new projects in the coming five to six years, including ITC in Xuhui District, Shanghai and IFC in Nanjing. Read more>>

Mortgage Rate to Hike Over The Long Term: HKMA

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority raised its base rate charged through its overnight discount window by 25 basis points yesterday to 2 percent in line with the US Federal Reserve. “Hong Kong dollar interest rates will eventually normalize. It is not reasonable to expect HKD interest rates to stay low for a prolonged period,” said HKMA chairman Norman Chan.

“As interest rates normalize, it will put pressure for a mortgage rate hike over the long term. It is a good trend for healthy development of the Hong Kong property market,” he added. Read more>>

Home Prices to Rise Further as Private Flat Completion Misses Target

The number of private flats being completed in Hong Kong will not meet the government’s supply target of 20,000 units until 2019, providing further evidence that home prices are likely to continue to trend higher, at least this year.

The number of completed flats is expected to edge up 1.9 percent to 18,130 this year, and further rise to 20,370 in 2019, according to preliminary data released by the Rating and Valuation Department in its annual review on the local property market on Friday. Read more>>

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