HK$660M Sale of Floor in Admiralty Office Tower Breaks Hong Kong Price Record – Again

Less than two weeks after a floor in 9 Queen’s Road Central claimed the title as the city’s most expensive strata-titled property, a floor in Far East Finance Centre has reportedly broken that short-lived price record.

The 33rd floor of Admiralty district’s Far East Finance Centre has been sold for HK$61,000 per square foot, 1.7 percent higher than the previous record set just one kilometre to the west, according to media accounts. The 10,800 square foot floor was disposed of for a sum of HK$660 million by Nigerian Chinese businessman Lewis Tung to an unidentified buyer, according to a Hong Kong Economic Times account.

Office Asset Notches Six-fold Rise in Value

Tung, who together with his brother Robert has built a fortune in steel-making and other industries in Nigeria, had purchased the grade A office property in 2005 for HK$93 million through privately held Hong Kong entity Tungs Holdings Company.

After reportedly being in final negotiations to sell the floor in July last year for HK$514 million, the African industrialist eventually achieved a sixfold increase over the acquisition price for the asset some 13 years ago.

Far East Finance Centre, located at 18 Harcourt Road, is best known for its golden exterior. Built in 1982, the 48-storey commercial tower is within a five-minute walk of the Admiralty MTR station, just one station east of Central.

Hong Kong Office Price Records Fall as Temperatures Rise

Hong Kong’s office market recorded a transaction volume of HK$25.8 billion last quarter — double the 5-year historical average, according to Knight Frank. Almost half of that volume was generated by strata title deals as values for office assets appear to be climbing on a weekly basis.

Two weeks ago, the 34th floor in 9 Queen’s Road Central was sold to local property firm Winland Group for HK$510 million, a price which valued the asset at just under HK$60,000 per square foot. The deal for the 8,570 square foot asset broke the strata-titled office price record previously set by the 79th floor of The Center skyscraper on Queen’s Road, when Tai United Holdings offloaded the top story of the tower for the equivalent of HK$55,854 per square foot last September.

The 9 Queen’s Road Central deal was followed last week by another record-shattering strata-title transaction in World-Wide House. The 11th floor of the commercial complex at 19 Des Voeux Rd Central across Connaught Road from Exchange Square and the IFC was sold for HK$44,030 ($5,609) per square foot — the highest ever for the commercial building.