New World Buys Up Ap Lei Chau Site and More Hong Kong Real Estate Headlines 

In Mingtiandi’s latest Hong Kong headline update, local giant New World Development has been making some acquisitions of old buildings for redevelopment in both the South Island area and in Kowloon’s Tsim Sha Tsui, as new sites continue to be tough to come by.

A regional fund manager is also on the hunt for new properties as it buys up a full floor and pieces of two other levels in Causeway Bay, and one of the mainland’s biggest insurers is reportedly moving its digital banking division to Kowloon East after signing a lease for HK$35 per square foot.

Keep reading for these and other trade-war-free stories from the world’s priciest real estate market.

New World Pays HK$240M to Win Ap Lei Chau Site

New World Development has acquired the remaining residential and retail units in four aging tenement buildings on Ap Lei Chau island for HK$240 million, according to local media reports, winning it the rights to redevelop a site in Hong Kong’s south island area.

The buyer, who is named on the land registry as Wing Choy Cheng, reportedly a stakeholder of New Word Development, has now secured full ownership of the buildings on 6-8 Ping Lan Street and 26-32 Main Street.

Local media say the developer purchased the remaining 10 residential units in the buildings for a combined HK$143 million and paid HK$97 million for the two remaining ground floor retail unit to win control of the site. The four buildings can be redeveloped as a residential property of up to 36,000 square feet. Read more>>

New World Files for Compulsory Sale in Tsim Sha Tsui

New World Development has applied for the compulsory sale of the remaining flats in the 1960s-era commercial-cum-residential building Hankow Apartments in Tsim Sha Tsui, after the developer successfully purchased two flats for a combined HK$47 million, according to local news reports.

The Hong Kong-listed company purchased Flat B and C, both on the tenth floor of the building, for HK$22 million and HK$25 million respectively, equating to HK$28,000 and HK$32,000 per square foot.

Hankow Apartments, located at 43-59A Hankow Road, sits on a 7,800 square feet site, with New World expected to redevelop the property. Read more>>

SilkRoad Affiliate Buys Causeway Bay Commercial Space for HK$500M

A company registered to a director of private equity fund manager SilkRoad Property Partners has paid HK$500 million to purchase 46,241 square feet of office space space in Causeway Bay, according to local media accounts.

A company named Tin Hau Ventures purchased unit 7 on the fourth floor, the entire fifth floor office use, and unit A on the sixth floor of the Victoria Centre at 15 Watson Road, according to local records. The company, which is registered to SilkRoad partner Mark Khoo Foo Choy is paying the equivalent of HK$10,812 per square foot for its new space in the mixed-use complex. Read more>>

Ping An Leases Upper Floor in Kowloon East for HK$35 Per Sq Ft

Ping An Insurance has reportedly signed a lease for its digital banking division to take an upper floor in the NEO tower, a grade A office in Kowloon East, which has recently become a hub of leasing activity. The tower, which mainland developer LVGEM acquired from Wheelock for HK$9 billion in 2017 is on track to open in the third quarter of this year.

The insurer is said to have leased 31,500 square feet for its new space in the 21-storey tower at 123 Hoi Bun Road, paying HK$35 per square foot per month. Read more>>

Landlord Hikes Lipstick Seller Sasa’s Rent by 43%

Hong Kong-listed cosmetics retailer Sasa has signed a long-term lease on a unit in the MPM shopping mall in Mong Kok, paying HK$400,000 per month for the 1,800 square foot premises it had already been leasing on a short-term agreement.

The seller of beauty products and perfumes, which has decided to extend its stay in the company of luxury brand Longines in the shopping centre at 240-244 Portland Street, will be paying 43 percent more than the HK$280,000 it had been paying for its initial three-month contract.  Read more>>

Wing Wah Bakery Buys Cheung Sha Wan Premises for HK$37M

Wing Wah, the traditional Chinese bakery chain and global exporter of moon cakes, has purchased a ground floor unit in Cheung Sha Wan for HK$37 million.

The bakery purchased the 1,100 square foot premises in the Wing Loong Building at 220-240A Castle Peak Road for the equivalent of HK$34,000 per square foot.

The retail unit is currently being leased to an eyewear retailer at a monthly rent of HK$68,000, with the lease due to expire in August. Read more>>

“Logistics Cheung” Pays Highest Ever Price for a Center Parking Space

Renowned real estate flipper Johnny Cheung Shun-yee has sold a parking space located in the Center, a premium office property in Central, for HK$8 million.

The parking space on level B1, which is next to a lift that goes directly to the upper floors of the building, fetched the highest price on record for the Center, with the expert property flipper paying 30 percent more than the previous record of just over HK$6 million.

Cheung Shun-yee, who is also known as “Logistics Cheung” on account of being a member of the family behind Man Sun Logistics, had already sold a parking space earlier in June for HK$6 million.  Read more>>