Cheung Kei Tycoon’s Seized Mid-Levels Apartment Up for Tender Sale

A luxury apartment in Hong Kong’s Mid-Levels area is up for sale after it was seized from Shenzhen tycoon Chen Hongtian in March.

The fifth-floor luxury unit at Opus Hong Kong on Stubbs Road is being sold by receivers via a tender that closes at noon on 8 August, according to Savills, the sole agent for the tender sale. The property is offered on an “as is” basis with non-vacant possession.

The seizure of the five-bedroom home perched among lush greenery near The Peak was one of a series of recent moves by creditors to take over assets linked to Chen and his private mainland investment firm, Cheung Kei Group, whose repossessed head office also went up for tender sale this week in an exercise managed by Savills.

“Since its release on the market, Opus has been fully purchased and collected by top-tier billionaires and has never been put up for sale,” said Thomas See, senior associate director for investment at Savills Hong Kong. “This property is extremely rare and boasts unparalleled advantages in terms of location, exterior design, landscape, quality, and more, making it incomparable to any other. Its value is extraordinary, making it easily one of the most precious residential properties in Asia.”

Latest Twists

Chen made waves in Hong Kong in 2016 when he spent a record HK$2.1 billion (now $270 million) for a home on Gough Hill Road in the city’s Peak area, after complaining that his 5,154 square foot (479 square metre) apartment at Opus, for which he paid HK$387 million in 2015, was too small.

Completed in 2012, Opus is a development of Swire Properties in collaboration with famed US architect Frank Gehry. The building twists to give each of its 12 units a unique floor plan and its own panoramic outlook of the urban skyline and Victoria Harbour, Savills said.

Chen’s former apartment, the only unit on the fifth floor, features an open-plan design and a ceiling height of over 4 metres (13 feet). Opus is less than 10 minutes’ drive from the Central CBD, which the development overlooks.

“With no other projects obstructing the view, it stands out on its own,” said Raymond Wan, chief senior director for investment at Savills Hong Kong. “Each distinctive mansion is like a work of art, rare and highly sought after, and is sure to capture the attention of the market.”

Kowloon Tower Marketed

Savills announced Monday that it was marketing One HarbourGate East Tower, formerly known as Cheung Kei Center, located on the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront promenade in Kowloon’s Hung Hom area.

The property, comprising an office tower and a two-storey retail building with 155 car parking spaces, had a market valuation last year of HK$7 billion (now $890 million), the consultancy said.

Mingtiandi reported earlier that Hang Seng Bank was taking over Cheung Kei Center and had appointed receivers from PriceWaterhouseCoopers to control the asset. Chen’s Cheung Kei had acquired the 17-storey property for HK$4.5 billion (then $580 million) in 2016 to use as its corporate headquarters.