SHKP: We are always confident in Hong Kong and plan to invite long-term investors.
(By Ngan Lun-lok)
The five-month-long amendment crisis has not yet ended, and the Sino-US trade talks engage in a fierce battle, dragging down the property market and economic performance in recent months. The commercial land king om top of West Kowloon High-speed Rail Station opened for bidding yesterday was won by SHKP for about HKD42.2 billion. Although the project hit a new high in the history of land sales in Hong Kong in terms of land prices, the sq ft floor area land price is only about HKD13,345, which is similar to that of the commercial land in Tsim Sha Tsui sold in 2014, thus many surveyors consider it to be a favorable price. SHKP pointed out that it has always been confident in the prospects of Hong Kong and the company intends to invite long-term strategic investors to participate in the development.
The bidding for commercial land on top of the West Kowloon High-speed Rail Station was closed last Friday. There were only three bids were received since the land value had been estimated at tens of billions of HKD. In addition to the SHKP that won the bid, the other two consortiums entered the bid were Cheung Kong and a consortium formed by Henderson, Chinese Estates Holdings Limited, LIFESTYLE INT'L, Sino Land and The Wharf Limited. The Lands Department announced yesterday that the land was won by SHKP for HKD42.232 billion, with the sq ft floor area land price at HKD13,345 based on the buildable floor area of about 3.16 million sq ft, and the land price hit a land sales historical record high in Hong Kong (including residential and commercial land sales).
Earlier, the market's valuation of the land was between HKD31.646 billion and HKD79.1 billion, thus the bid price this time was within market expectations. However, it is worth noting that many surveyors have repeatedly lowered their land valuations in recent months. Moreover, the sq ft floor area land price this time is probably only close to that (HKD12,863)of No. 2 land site in Kai Tak District 1F sold in May 2017 and that (HKD13,800) of the commercial land site in Middle Road No.15, Tsim Sha Tsui sold in September 2014.
As for commercial land has the highest sq ft price in recent years, it is Murray Road land site in Central District, and it was won by Henderson in May 2017 with the sq ft floor area land price as high as HKD50,064, so West Kowloon High-Speed Rail Station land can’t place on equal footing with it.
Raymond KWOK Ping Luen: Very happy to win the bid.
The Chairman and Managing Director of SHKP, Raymond KWOK Ping Luen yesterday expressed that he was very pleased to have won the site, and the project has a geographical advantage, not only located on the top of the High-speed Rail Station, but also near the Airport Express Line, the MTR Tung Chung Line, and the West Rail Line, leading it to be a transportation hub where four lines intersect that run through Hong Kong's various districts and many major cities in the Mainland, also it connects to the world through the Airport Railway and Airport. He revealed that the group intends to invite other long-term strategic investors to participate in the development and inject richer and diversified resources and concepts into the project.
The company stated that the project is located on the High-speed Rail Station, so companies that whether enter the project or the adjacent International Trade Plaza (ICC) in the future will benefit from China's high-speed rail, the world's largest high-speed rail network, promoting business exchanges and culture with cities tourism. West Kowloon Terminus is the only High-speed Rail Station in Hong Kong. It is extremely important for Hong Kong to grasp the development opportunities of the Greater Bay Area and has great strategic value.
Developing a landmark project to make a contribution.
Raymond KWOK Ping Luen emphasized that SHKP has always been full of confidence in Hong Kong's prospects, and SHKP witnessed the vigorous development of Hong Kong's economy from the International Finance Centre (IFC) in the 1990s and ICC in the 2000s to today's bid for the site of West Kowloon Terminus, and it will develop the land into a new landmark comprehensive commercial project, playing a synergistic effect with ICC, comparing favorably with IFC in Central, and contributing to Hong Kong's status as an international financial business and trade center.
SHKP made major investments in the Greater Bay Area.
SHKP has been extremely aggressive in the land sales market in recent years. Together with the commercial land on top of West Kowloon Station, which has just been won, it has spent up to HKD85 billion on land investment in the Hong Kong market over the past two years. The estimated investment amount is over HKD150 billion including land price and construction cost. It is the most active real estate developer in the market in recent years. In addition to the Hong Kong market, SHKP also invests projects in the Greater Bay Area, with a total floor area of 30 million square feet of projects under construction in the region, and Guangzhou Nansha is one of the key development area.
The data shows that the project is located at the junction of Lin Cheung Road and Austin Road West in Kowloon. It can be developed into a large platform mall and three Class A office buildings. Developer can also apply to the Town Planning Board for changes to the plan and apply for the development of commercial buildings and hotels. As the development period ends at the end of March 2028, it is expected SHKP will not gain rent return until 8 years later.
