Mainland Firm Buys Floor in The Center for HK$594M and More HK Real Estate Headlines

The towering object of mainland desire on Queen’s Road

Hong Kong’s neighbors from the north continue to make a big noise in the city’s property markets this past week as mainland firms continue to buy, lease and otherwise grab hold of more bricks and mortar in the city.  On Friday, another floor in the Center went to a mainland buyer, just over one month after a Beijing-based group bought out most of the skyscraper. Meanwhile, a study by JLL finds that mainland tenants grabbed 48 percent of the premium space leased in Hong Kong during the first nine months of the year. These stories and more await you below.

DBS Sells Floor in the Center to Mainland Firm for HK$594M

DBS Bank has sold a lower floor in the Center on Queen’s Road to a mainland-controlled buyer for HK$594 million ($71.1 million) just over one month after a mainland-led consortium bought out the majority of the Central district landmark in a record-setting $5.15 billion transaction.

Wonderful Sky Financial Group Holdings (1260), a Hong Kong-listed financial consulting and public relations agency founded and run by Beijing Normal University graduate Liu Tianni acquired the ninth floor of the 73-storey office tower from the Singaporean bank, with plans to use the space for its own offices. The deal is expected to close by January 8th, 2018. Read more>>

Henderson Boss Lee Shau-kee Sells First Shares Since 1993

Property tycoon Lee Shau-kee recorded his first sales of shares in Henderson Land Development Co since 1993, based on corporate filings.

The chairman of the Hong Kong real estate heavyweight sold 3.63 million shares of Henderson Land from December 1 to 5 at an average of HK$50.04 apiece. The trades reduced his holdings to 2.920 billion shares or 72.99 per cent of the issued capital. He previously acquired 580,000 shares on January 4 at HK$41.41 each. Read more>>

Mainland Chinese Tenants Lease 48% of HK Prime Office Space 

Chinese companies continued their march into Hong Kong’s commercial space in the first three quarters, pushing the cost of renting offices in the city to the world’s highest in square footage terms, according to property consultant JLL.

Tenants with home bases in mainland China took up 48 percent of new space offered in Hong Kong, according to JLL’s Premium Office Rent Tracker data, which surveys the highest achievable price in offices exceeding 10,000 square feet of space in 54 major markets in 46 major cities. Read more>>

Causeway Bay Watch Shop Renews at 30% Discount

Retail rents in some of Hong Kong’s busiest shopping districts continue to show signs of weakness as a watch shop in Causeway Bay, renewed its lease for 30 percent less than its previous contract. 

With the existing agreement set to expire in May 2018, the 3,000 square foot shop located in Kai Chiu Road renewed for HK $2 million per month — down some 30 percent from its previous rate of HK$3.15 million per month. Read more>>  

Hong Kong Property Deals Jump 34% in 2017

With prices for homes, shops and other property reaching record levels in Hong Kong this year, the number of deals has soared by some 34 percent, as owners look to cash in and buyers fear missing out. 

According to records released by the city Lands Department, through December 6th, 2017 some 78,100 real estate transactions had been registered in the city this year, including in the primary and secondary residential markets, primary public housing, commercial buildings and car parks.

In total, the transactions amounted to more than HK$6.51 trillion ($834.4 billion), or an increase of 34 percent compared to the same period in 2016. Read more>>

Tune in again later for more Hong Kong news, and be sure to follow @Mingtiandi on Twitter, or bookmark Mingtiandi’s LinkedIn page for headlines as they happen.

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