Meet Tang Shing-bor’s 32-year-old successor Stan Tang, the youngest son of the shop king
As a new generation takes over leadership of major Hong Kong developers including CK Assets and New World Development, the heir of the city’s “shop king” Tang Shing-bor is building on a relationship with a HKEX-listed developer first forged by his 83-year-old father.
Stan Group, chaired by Tang Shing-bor’s youngest son Stan Tang, has entered a joint venture with tycoon Joseph Lau’s Chinese Estates to redevelop an industrial building in Tsuen Wan, the New Territories. Stan Group announced Monday that it is taking a 50 percent stake in the joint venture to redevelop the 8-storey Possehl Building, an industrial building at 14-18 Ma Kok Street, Tsuen Wan. Lau’s Chinese Estates will take the remaining half stake.
Purchased by Tang’s family last year from a factory owner for HK$450 million ($57 million), the Possehl Building has a floor area of over 120,000 square feet (11,148 square metres). The redevelopment is expected to increase the project’s gross floor area by 60 percent to 190,000 square feet for the site and the project is scheduled to complete in 2019.
The building is located in an industrial area in Tsuen Wan — a 20-minute walk from the nearest metro station Tsuen Wan West.
Chinese Estates Confident in HK’s Industrial Market
Possehl Building is going to be redeveloped by Chinese Estates and Stan Group
“With the opening of modern, new industrial buildings in Tsuen Wan District, prices and transaction volumes in the industrial sector have scaled to new heights. We expect the district to continue to be a hub for such development,” said Andy Tai, Senior Manager of Sales and Investment at Chinese Estates in a statement. “Chinese Estates has confidence in the market, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to collaborate with Tang Shing-bor’s Family and Stan Group on this project.”
While there has been a surge of investments in industrial projects which have already been approved for conversion to commercial use, in the local language version of Chinese Estates’ statement, Tai was careful to point out the company’s confidence in the future value of industrial projects, and no notice has been provided of the property being approved for alternative purposes.
“This partnership brings together two developers with extensive experience in the property investment and development sector,” said Stan Chan, the 32-year-old chairman of Stan Group in the statement. “Our investment in this joint venture contributes to the achievement of our immediate goal of acquiring industrial building assets in core locations.”
New Generation Leverages Family Relationships
Tang Shing-bor established ties with Chinese Estates as a buyer of the latter’s properties in the past few years. In September 2016, Tang acquired Chinese Estates’ The Zenith mall in Wanchai, along with a bundle of car parks for HK$564 million ($72 million). The deal followed Tang’s 2012 purchase of a section of Chinese Estates’ Indi Home mall and 135 car park spaces in Tsuen Wan for HK$350 million ($45 million).
The retail king’s son is building a property empire himself. Stan Group, named after Stan himself, owns a dozen properties in Hong Kong, comprising residential, commercial, and industrial assets mostly in Kowloon and the New Territories.
Regarded as the successor to his father’s $2 billion retail shop business, Stan Tang has ventured into other sectors including hotels, restaurants and flexible offices. In 2016, Tang set up co-working space The Wave in Kwun Tong. Just last year Stan Group bought the Hotel Bonaparte in Wanchai for HK$450 million, and the group’s hospitality subsidiary Tang’s Living owns some 11 hotels across the city, its corporate website shows.
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