Sino Land-led consortium snaps up Ma Tau Wai site despite worries about Hong Kong’s sluggish economy and weak property market
- The Sino Land-led consortium won the tender with a winning bid of US$272 million
- Out of the 10 projects launched by the government, MTR Corp and the URA this year, only four drew sufficient bids for the tender process to continue
The company, along with China Merchants Land and Great Eagle Holdings, beat five other developers with a winning bid of HK$1.93 billion (US$272 million) for the site, which will yield 414,900 sq ft of space, including 345,500 sq ft of residential floor area, according to announcements by Sino Land and the URA on Thursday.
“This prime residential site is in a sought-after location with an excellent school network in central Kowloon that is near Sung Wong Toi and To Kwa Wan stations,” Daryl Ng, deputy chairman of Sino Land, said in a statement. “It is an excellent addition to our land bank.”
The developer added that the purchase of the plot in Ma Tau Wai is part of its efforts to support the Energising Kowloon East initiative, which is designed to transform the former Kai Tak airport and adjoining areas of Kwun Tong and Kowloon Bay into Hong Kong’s second central business district.
Other developers who bid for the site were Sun Hung Kai Properties, Wheelock Properties, New World Development, K Wah International and CK Asset Holdings, according to a statement by the URA.
“We are committed to Hong Kong and China, and are full of confidence for the Hong Kong and China economies,” Ng said in the statement. “It is an excellent addition to our land bank.”
Sino Land snaps up Hong Kong land tender with winning bid hitting nine-year low
A total of 10 projects were launched by the government, MTR Corp and the URA between January and November this year. Only four of them – three residential sites and a commercial parcel – drew enough bids for the tender process to continue.
In September, Sino Land led a consortium that won a tender for a site at Kai Tak with a bid of HK$5.3 billion.
September’s winning bid of HK$5,392 per square foot is a nine-year low compared to other land prices in the same district.
It emerges amid mounting worries that home prices in Hong Kong would drop further due to a gloomy economic outlook.
The October sales of 1,917 lived-in homes is the lowest monthly total of this year.
In that month, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu announced easing of property curbs in his second policy address. These included halving the buyers’ stamp duty to 7.5 per cent for non-permanent residents and for residents buying a second or additional homes.
