Hong Kong’s ‘Emperor’s Home’ penthouse sold at 68% discount as distressed tycoons divest
‘We will continue seeing financially pressured owners offloading assets until interest rates come down substantially,’ analyst says
Financially pressured Hong Kong and mainland Chinese tycoons continue offloading real estate assets in the city at loss as the market sees a revival in transactions, attracting more bargain hunters.
A three-storey penthouse apartment at The Arch complex atop Hong Kong’s Kowloon station sold on Tuesday as part of a six-unit portfolio of properties under receivership. The portfolio sold for HK$410 million (US$52.7 million) – 68 per cent less than the HK$1.3 billion asking price in 2021. The portfolio, including six parking spaces, belonged to Hui Chi-ming, the former chairman of Sino Union Petroleum & Chemical International, according to the Land Registry.
Record interest rates, combined with a property slump in Hong Kong and mainland China, have driven some highly leveraged borrowers to resort to distressed sales. Meanwhile, the long property downturn has eroded the personal fortunes of local and mainland business owners and real estate tycoons.
“We will continue to see financially pressured owners offloading assets until interest rates come down substantially,” said Tom Ko, executive director and head of capital markets for Cushman & Wakefield in Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, the family of Hong Kong’s late ‘Shop King’ Tang Shing-bor is trying to sell its Hotel Ease Access in Tsuen Wan, according to Cushman & Wakefield, the sole agent. The 21-storey, 170-room hotel is valued at HK$300 million, down 40 per cent from when it was put on sale last year.
