Tycoon Chen Hongtian blames ‘short-term cash-flow disruption’ for seizure of Hong Kong properties including Peak house
- His company, Cheung Kei Group, cites defaults on ‘several big-ticket accounts receivable’ and ‘abnormal obstacles’ for loss of control over assets
- Chen Hongtian’s three core properties in Hong Kong are worth about HK$9.8 billion (US$1.25 billion), company says
Chinese tycoon Chen Hongtian’s company has blamed a “short-term cash-flow disruption” after three of his properties in Hong Kong, including a house on The Peak that he bought for HK$2.1 billion (US$268 million) in 2016, were taken over by creditors.
“Chen Hongtian’s three core properties in Hong Kong are worth about HK$9.8 billion, according to recent appraisal reports commissioned by banks,” Cheung Kei Group said in a statement on Friday, published in the official WeChat account of Shenzhen-based Harmony Club, which is chaired by Chen.
“Although the value of some properties has dropped sharply compared to before the pandemic, it should be slightly higher than the HK$5 billion in loans, and the debt ratio is less than 60 per cent.”
The statement came after Chen’s house, a 9,212 sq ft property at 15 Gough Hill Road, was seized this month by receivers appointed by Bank of East Asia (BEA), according to government records.
In February this year, Bank of Communications appointed receivers for his Opus Hong Kong property, which he bought with Chen Yao Li Ni.
