From riches to rags: Hong Kong’s veteran property traders grapple with market downturn – Model Slux

Hong Kong’s business market declines have left among the metropolis’s once-prosperous veteran traders struggling financially, with consultants anticipating distressed gross sales to proceed amid plunging property valuations.

In April, receivers took over the posh indifferent mansion in Pok Fu Lam the place “Cassette King” David Chan Ping-chi and his household had lived for the reason that Eighties, advertising it for HK$430 million (US$54.8 million) final week. Chan, who defaulted on a mortgage of about HK$350 million from Fubon Financial institution earlier this yr, tried to promote his home for a similar quantity final yr to repay the debt however didn’t discover a purchaser, property brokers mentioned.

The seasoned investor, who made his fortune within the manufacturing trade, had been an lively property investor, with a large portfolio spanning places of work, luxurious residential items, retail retailers and parking areas.

He was a part of a consortium of 10 traders who purchased 48 flooring in The Middle from CK Asset Holdings for HK$40.2 billion in 2018, making the skyscraper on Queen’s Highway Central the world’s costliest.

Chan, who owned seven workplace flooring at The Middle, offered the final two to Singapore’s DBS Group in September and November for a median value of HK$26,500 per sq. foot, an over 20 per cent low cost to his buying prices, based on brokers.

“Cassette King” David Chan Ping-chi. Picture: SCMP

“Investments in retail and industrial properties are experiencing the biggest losses, with capital values dropping by about 60 per cent,” Chan mentioned in a telephone interview final week. “The larger the retailers, the higher the losses. That makes it very troublesome to promote these properties.”

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