Swire plans to bring its Taikoo Li and Taikoo Hui mixed-use projects, which have been successful in other mainland Chinese cities, to Shenzhen

The Hong Kong-listed firm recently signed a cooperation agreement with the Futian district government of Shenzhen to develop a retail-led commercial project

Swire Properties will expand its retail property business in Shenzhen as part of its HK$100 billion (US$12.7 billion) investment plan over the next 10 years.

The Hong Kong-listed company is keen to grow its retail assets in the Greater Bay Area in Shenzhen besides Hong Kong and Guangzhou, said chief executive Tim Blackburn at a briefing last week.

“The challenge for us is continuing the Greater Bay [Area] story which, at the moment, is Shenzhen. That is where we want to be able to bring a Taikoo Li or a Taikoo Hui concept,” said Blackburn.

Taikoo Li and Taikoo Hui are Swire’s mixed-use property projects in China. On the mainland, the company has such developments in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Chengdu.

Swire’s HK$100 billion investment plan unveiled in March is broadly divided into three main components. About HK$30 billion has been earmarked for reinforcing office developments, HK$20 billion for residential projects in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, and HK$50 billion for Taikoo Li and Taikoo Hui projects in China’s tier one cities, specifically in the Greater Bay Area.

He added that the company would like to build on the success of its Taikoo Hui project in Guangzhou, which “has been our flagship for more than a decade”.

While the scope of the Shenzhen project “will be entirely determined by the size of the site and the planning parameters”, Swire’s “retail projects are generally between one and 1.5 million square feet”, Blackburn said.

Swire recently signed a cooperation agreement with the Futian district government of Shenzhen. The company will work closely with the local authorities to develop a new commercial project and introduce premium international retail brands with a focus on culture and the arts to support the district in lifting its profile.

“The Futian district government is keen to take advantage of our extensive experience and expertise in urban regeneration, as well as our creative approach to placemaking” to transform neighbourhoods, Swire said in a statement.

Swire has a clear understanding of what the government is looking for, Blackburn said. Swire has had a team in Shenzhen since 2019 scouring for sites, but has yet to zero in on a location.

“To choose one site, we probably look at 100. That is how you know how complex the process is, in order to meet all our criteria,” Blackburn said.

Generally, the development period from acquisition to completion is between four to five years, depending on the scale, he added.

Swire’s focus in Shenzhen will be retail-led and is unlikely to include an office component. The city has ample supply of grade A office space, which has pushed up the vacancy rate to 15.5 per cent in the second quarter, according to a property consultancy.

“In short term, the issue of oversupply exists, the liquidity/lettable rate of the stock will be slower compared to last year, the vacancy rate will be pushed up and the rent is likely to remain flat,” the property consultancy said in its Shenzhen office market report.

“We have very clear ideas on where we want to invest and how much we want to invest in each of those projects,” Blackburn said, adding that that the project in Shenzhen would most likely be a joint venture.

The company has previously resorted to this route in Xian, where it had formed a 70:30 joint venture for the HK$10 billion project.

Last week, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang sounded another warning about China’s economy at a State Council meeting, saying companies were “facing more difficulties than in 2020” – during the initial outbreak of the coronavirus – and called for more reform.

China’s Communist Party will hold its twice-a-decade congress next month and it comes against the backdrop of an economy dogged by constant Covid-19-related disruptions, a looming population crisis and soaring youth unemployment.

Blackburn said Swire was comfortable investing in the Chinese mainland, pointing to the group’s 150-plus year history in the country.

“Will we continue our investment decisions in the Chinese mainland? The short answer is yes,” he said. “Irrespective of the short-term volatility, during this period of Covid, we still see the fundamentals.”

(South China Morning Post)

Miami Quay prices attract plenty of home hopefuls

Miami Quay I in Kai Tak plans to put another 65 flats on the market, which are expected to see a 5 to 10 percent hike in prices.

Co-developed by Wheelock Properties, Henderson Land (0012), New World Development (0017) and Empire Group, the project had received over 500 checks for 130 flats on the first price list by Saturday, making the batch 2.8 times oversubscribed.

The first batch goes on sale over the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival weekend.

Ricky Wong Kwong-yiu, an executive director of Wheelock Properties, said about 7,000 visitors were in attendance at an exhibition hall, with more than 50 percent of them current residents of Kowloon, especially people living or working in Kowloon East.

About 25 percent were from Hong Kong Island and the rest from the New Territories and other parts.

And many of the would-be buyers were young people.

About 70-80 percent of them intend to purchase a property for themselves while the remainder aimed to buy the property for investment.

The Miami Quay development features three residential buildings that can offer a total of 648 flats.

The first price list for Miami Quay I was released last Friday and included 130 flats.

There are studios plus one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom flats on the list, with prices ranging from HK$5.24 million to HK$14.6 million. So square-foot prices are from HK$20,339 to HK$23,839.

The average price is HK$22,452 per sq ft, which is the lowest seen in the district during the past two years.

Wong said the prices of these units are indeed attractive in the market, and he believes there will be room for increases of 5 to 10 percent when more flats are added.

Amid sales of a large project, the picture of sales in the 10 major housing estates in the secondary market was mixed over the weekend.

A property agency's 10 major housing estates only recorded eight transactions during the weekend - a five-week low.

But another agency recorded 10 transactions, a week-on-week increase of 11.1 percent.

The decrease of transactions recorded by the first agency was seen to be mainly due to the fact that the pandemic in Hong Kong has risen again, with tens of thousands of confirmed cases in a single day, and that caused a decline in property viewing activities.

(The Standard)

太古地產：核心區甲廈租金 中期看穩

彭國邦指應盡快與國際通關 令商業市場回正軌

疫情衝擊商業市道，太古地產 (01972) 行政總裁彭國邦 (Tim Blackburn) 認為，本港應盡快與國際通關，令商業市場重回正軌，並指寫字樓租金已見底，通關後新需求可重臨，而住宅樓價受加息影響等僅屬短綫，長遠仍可平穩發展。

疫情令封關持續近3年，對跨國商業活動造成衝擊，寫字樓需求下降。據測量師行數據，目前整體本港甲廈空置率近10%，為近10多年來新高。

港背靠中國優勢 跨企必選擇

坐擁多個大型寫字樓項目的太古地產，早前公布最新營運數字，截至上半年，集團兩大商業重鎮，太古廣場及太古坊整體出租率仍高達97%及96%，整體出租率為96%，彭國邦指，疫下集團寫字樓仍保持理想出租率，「核心區甲廈租金已有所調整，但現已見底回穩，中期來說相信會穩定。」

封關成為跨國商務往來的重要阻礙，他認為，在新政府上場後已有正面進展，包括近期「3+4」檢疫措施，但並不足夠，希望是全面通關，現時很多地區也全面開放。對於有個別機構，近一年把總部遷至新加坡，令香港國際金融城市地位或受動搖說法出現。

彭國邦指，暫未見旗下租戶出現此情況，亦強調香港擁背靠中國優勢，「對跨國企業來說，因要到不同地方經商，他們搬總部或只是暫時性。但長遠來說，若機構睇重內地市場，必須選擇在港設辦公室。」

疫情期間在家工作興起，他不相信傳統辦公室因而被取代，「辦公模式一定會有轉變，在疫情前，曾有共享空間會代替傳統辦公室的說法。現時很多機構提供更彈性上班時間及地點，工作生活平衡，若機構可提供良好工作環境，便可吸納人才。」彭國邦說。

他指，集團旗下太古坊二座今年第4季落成，樓面已獲5成預租，他透露大廈設計甚有心思，提供很多公共地方迎合新需求，強調辦公室受歡迎與否，關鍵是大廈質素及管理。

中長綫住宅需求 仍理想

至於住宅市場上，最近樓價有所調整，彭國邦認為，住宅價格有調整受不同原因影響，包括加息、經濟不明朗因素，「相信只是短綫衝擊，中長綫住宅需求仍理想。」他指，集團過往發展大型屋苑太古城、半山豪宅等，而2023至2026年將有數項目，包括灣仔EIGHT STAR STREET、黃竹坑站4期、柴灣中巴車廠，以上本年投得灣仔皇后大道東地皮，將提供多元化的住宅供應。

(經濟日報)

更多太古廣場寫字樓出租樓盤資訊請參閱：太古廣場寫字樓出租

更多金鐘區甲級寫字樓出租樓盤資訊請參閱：金鐘區甲級寫字樓出租

更多太古坊寫字樓出租樓盤資訊請參閱：太古坊寫字樓出租

更多鰂魚涌區甲級寫字樓出租樓盤資訊請參閱：鰂魚涌區甲級寫字樓出租

未來10年 重點投資內地一綫城市

今年為太古地產 (01972) 成立50周年，行政總裁彭國邦 (Tim Blackburn) 指，集團對本港及內地投信心一票，未來10年將投1,000億元，一半投資中國內地，並集中一綫城市。

彭國邦稱，太古地產計劃在未來10年，投資1,000億元擴展公司業務，於香港、中國內地和東南亞三地發展一系列新項目。三分之一資金會投放在香港，繼續擴建和優化太古坊及太古廣場兩大核心投資物業組合。

500億資金投資內地市場

另外，公司計劃將超過一半的資金投資於中國內地市場，「過往集團在內地市場發展理想，包括太古匯等項目，未來主力發展一綫城市，預期未來10年公司佔中國內地物業組合的總樓面面積將增加1倍。」

對於近期內地房地產出現不少債務問題，令到房地產市場受到衝擊，彭國邦指出相關內房出現問題為住宅市場，而集團在內地發展全為商業項目不受影響，而集團仍然非常看好前景。

至於大灣區發展方面，彭國邦指集團將在深圳開設酒店，未來亦會在深圳物色新項目，因留意到商廈空置率較高，故將主力發展零售項目。

(經濟日報)

更多太古廣場寫字樓出租樓盤資訊請參閱：太古廣場寫字樓出租

更多金鐘區甲級寫字樓出租樓盤資訊請參閱：金鐘區甲級寫字樓出租

數據中心需求殷 租金穩步上 代理：料未來1年升3%

數據中心於疫市下「異軍突起」，有外資代理行代理接受本報訪問時表示，科技發展一日千里，加上疫情帶動，令電子商貿發展迅速，企業對數據中心需求與日俱增，惟今市場可作數據中心的工廈供應有限，供不應求，令數據中心於疫市下炙手可熱，買家以機構性投資者為主力，料該類物業未來一年租金升約3%。

該代理指出，儘管受疫情及美國聯儲局加息等利淡因素洗禮，工商鋪市場觀望氣氛揮之不去，然而，全幢酒店及工廈於今年上半年仍受捧，該類物業防守力較高，該行統計資料顯示，今年第二季逾億元成交金額涉183億，當中工廈物業佔47%，涉及買賣金額達86%，因工廈受工廈活化政策支持，隨着市場進入5G大時代，新經濟需求如數據中心及凍倉等應運而生，該類物業均可透過工廈改裝而成，可為物業增值 (Value-added)，成為機構投資者追逐目標。

此外，該代理亦指出，全幢酒店如出一轍，因可改裝作長租公寓或共享空間，為物業釋出潛在價值，帶動該類物業於上半年頻錄大手買賣。

工廈佔買賣金額達86%

當被問及數據中心於疫市下炙手可熱，該代理分析指，因受疫情打擊，推動電子商貿需求、亦因居家工作日趨盛行，帶動企業對網絡及數據需求上升，刺激市場對數據中心需求穩步上揚，然而，市場可作數據中心用途的工廈有限，政府每年推出工業用地僅寥寥可數，若以現有工廈改裝，數據中心需要較高供電量及空間支緩，故一般舊式工廈不能直接改裝，市場上的同類放售物業亦相當罕有，造成市場供不應求，料該類物業明年整體租金上升約3%。

第2季甲廈負吸納量17.7萬方呎

另一方面，該代理亦為甲廈市場「把脈」，代理指出，整體租務市場於今年第二季曾稍回暖，惟通關尚未有正式時間表，市場仍缺乏新動力，今年第二季市場錄負吸納量17.7萬方呎，待租率 (空置樓面加於未來12個月市場放租樓面) 約13.8%，加上正值供應高峰期，環顧今年達290萬方呎樓面出台，明年亦有大量樓面「排住隊」出場，料整體待租率持續上升。

然而，受政府早前落實推出「3+4」檢疫措施，為甲廈市場釋出正面訊息，加上中資企業對中環甲廈可說「情有獨鍾」，若中港兩地於年底前可通關，料中資企業勢將「回歸」，屆時可帶動核心區甲廈租金回穩。

(星島日報)