Chinachem Wins Third HK Site in 15 Months With $350M Tung Chung Bargain Bid

Hong Kong-listed developer Chinachem won its third government land sale in 15 months late last week when it took advantage of a tepid development market to pick up a commercial site near Hong Kong’s international airport at a bargain price, according to an announcement by the city’s Lands Department.

Chinachem bested four other developers to win the rights to develop up to 1.3 million square feet (121,000 square metres) of space on the site in Lantau Island’s Tung Chung area for HK$2.78 billion ($350 million). That acquisition came at a rate below most analyst projections despite the government having revised the tender conditions to allow for data centre development as well as office and retail, following a failed attempt to auction the land in 2020.

“Given the developer will have high flexibility to use the land for data centre and office or retail, our firm expected the price could be between HK$4 billion and $4.4 billion,” a surveyor said.

The surveyor said that other analysts had estimated premiums for the site from HK$5 billion down to HK$2.8 billion, putting the final sale price below expectations as Hong Kong’s developers showed limited appetite for a commercial project near an airport that has been transformed from a bustling transport hub to a little-used shell by the city’s strict quarantine policies and flight bans.

Tung Chung Reclaimed

Chinachem’s top leadership sees its bet on Tung Chung Town Lot 45, a 132,773 square foot plot near the planned Tung Chung East MTR station, as a way to leverage the government’s development plans for the newly reclaimed Tung Chung New Town Extension, which is expected to be completed by the end of next year.

“Tung Chung East will be developed into a new town by the government in line with its Tung Chung New Town expansion plans,” Chinachem CEO Donald Choi said in a release. “The site is also adjacent to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and Tuen Mun Chek Lap Kok Tunnel, enjoying the advantage of excellent connectivity with Guangdong province and Macau. Given these factors, we are confident about this project and plan to develop shopping malls, offices and a data centre.”

Chinachem is paying the equivalent of HK$2,202 per square foot of accommodation for its Lantau Island site, with a brief on the tender from property consultancy Savills citing a pre-tender valuation range of HK$2,200 to HK$4,000 per square foot for the plot, which is eligible for development on a strata title basis and is expected to be connected to the upcoming MTR station via a footbridge.

Other bids for the 50-year land grant parcel 15 minutes’ drive from the Hong Kong airport came from local developers CK Asset Holdings, K Wah Properties, K&K Property and Sino Land, the Lands Department said. Upcoming land tenders will make available residential, hotel and additional commercial projects in the Tung Chung East area.

Second Time Lucky

The Tung Chung site was initially put up for sale by the government in 2020, but the tender was withdrawn in October of that year after all three bids submitted failed to meet the government’s reserve price. The contestants in that round were CK Asset, Sun Hung Kai Properties and a joint venture of Sino Land and Kerry Properties.

Since that earlier attempt, the Lands Department revised the terms of the tender to increase the site’s appeal by adding permission to develop the site entirely for data centre use as the city’s market for server facilities continues to boom.

However, the surveyor sees the site as a difficult fit for data centre purposes. “It reflects that the data centre operators/developers are not willing to invest in land with a long constructing period,” the surveyor said. “The subject land is located in a newly reclaimed area where infrastructure is not yet readily available.”

Other changes to the tender included removing the cap on office use, whereas the previous tender had allowed for no more than 91 percent office accommodation, and the added flexibility also permits boosting the cap on retail development to 30 percent from 9 percent in the earlier tender.

Pipeline Bulge

Chinachem has been the most active player in Hong Kong’s government land sales market since 2021, winning three development sites for a combined HK$12.06 billion, according to data compiled by another property agency.

In addition to the latest triumph, Chinachem and joint venture partner Hysan Development bested five other bidders last May to secure a Causeway Bay commercial site for HK$19.8 billion ($2.6 billion), with Chinachem’s 40 percent stake accounting for HK$7.91 billion of the amount.

The partners plan to develop a premium commercial building with community facilities on the 159,327 square foot site near Hysan’s Lee Garden Six commercial tower on Leighton Road, with a maximum allowable gross floor area of 1,076,390 square feet.

In December, Chinachem entered the winning bid of HK$1.37 billion for a New Territories residential site on which it plans to build a mixed development of low-density houses and apartments. The 150,716 square foot site in Tai Po Kau can yield a gross floor area of 226,000 square feet.

(Mingtiandi)

For more information of Office for Lease in Lee Garden Six please visit: Office for Lease in Lee Garden Six

For more information of Grade A Office for Lease in Causeway Bay please visit: Grade A Office for Lease in Causeway Bay

康宏廣場中層戶意向價5997萬

有代理行表示，尖沙咀康宏廣場中層14至15室，面積約4284方呎，以呎價約1.4萬元放售，意向價約5997萬元，可以公司股權轉讓形式交易。

該行指出，物業享有開揚景致，另設精緻寫字樓裝修、經理房、會議室及茶水間等隔間，為買家節省一筆裝修費及時間。買家可靈活按需要作自用或收租，彈性十足；而目前業主亦以每方呎約33元招租。

(信報)

更多康宏廣場寫字樓出售樓盤資訊請參閱：康宏廣場寫字樓出售

更多尖沙咀區甲級寫字樓出售樓盤資訊請參閱：尖沙咀區甲級寫字樓出售

老鳳祥半價續租百德新街鋪

受第五波疫情打擊，核心區鋪位租金持續下滑。消息指，由「百年老店」老鳳祥銀樓承租的銅鑼灣百德新街地鋪以約30萬續租，呎租約300元，較舊租金66萬急挫約54%，租金亦重回當年「沙士」水平。

據市場消息指出，由銅鑼灣百德新街22至36號翡翠明珠廣場地下32號鋪，建築面積約1000方呎，新獲老鳳祥銀樓以約30萬元續租，平均呎租約300元。

據地產代理指出，老鳳祥銀樓早於2017年10月起租用上址，上一手租金為66萬，故租金急挫約54.5%，此外，該鋪於2010年由另一連鎖金行租用，當時正值鋪市高峰期，租金高達90萬，故是次租金較高峰期大幅回落約66%。

舊租每月66萬元

據大型代理行資料顯示，該鋪早於2002年至2004年期間，由連鎖時裝店以約29萬租用，故該鋪最新租金已重回當年「沙士」水平。

有代理指，受第五波疫情重擊，零售市道疲弱不堪，加上遊客近絕迹，令鐘表珠寶等奢侈品成疫市「重災區」，營商環境持續收縮，同時，該類商戶於數年前以高價搶租核心區一綫街道鋪位，造成現時租金大幅回落，整體幅度逾五成，可說是「打回原形」！

(星島日報)