Hong Kong Fails to Sell Prime Plot Snubbed by Builder Due to Unrest
Hong Kong Fails to Sell Prime Plot Snubbed by Builder Due to Unrest
(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong’s government rejected all five tenders received for a land parcel at the Kai Tak area, the latest hit to the city’s lucrative property market caused by months of unrest.
The government said in a statement that the tendered premiums did not meet its reserve price for the site. Tenders were CK Asset Holdings Ltd., Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd., Chinese Estates Holdings Ltd., Sino Land Co. and Great Eagle Holdings Ltd.
Pro-democracy protests that started in June have dented business at some of Hong Kong’s top developers. The Asian financial hub’s property index fell 10% since demonstrations broke out. Used home prices have slid about 2% since mid-June, data from Centaline shows. Sun Hung Kai, the city’s biggest developer, is offering new homes at a discount to entice buyers amid the political crisis.
“The uncertainties like the recent economic situation and social movement are making developers more conservative in offering a price,” said Thomas Lam, an executive director at Knight Frank. “Most of the developers are still confident in Hong Kong.”
The Kai Tak site has seen an ill-fated bidding process. In June, Goldin Financial Holdings Ltd. dropped its successful bid for the land parcel citing “recent social contradiction and economic instability” that would negatively affect Hong Kong’s commercial property market.
To contact the reporters on this story: Jinshan Hong in Hong Kong at jhong214@bloomberg.net;Shawna Kwan in Hong Kong at wkwan35@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Rachel Chang at wchang98@bloomberg.net, Karen Leigh, Simon Lee
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