Henderson Land wins HK site for HK$23.3b

HONG KONG: Henderson Land Development Co outbid eight other developers to win a rare site in Hong Kong’s central district for a record HK$23.3 billion (RM12.9 billion). It was the first commercial plot sold by the government in more than two decades.

Henderson Land outbid local rivals including units of Cheung Kong Property Holdings Ltd and Wharf Holdings Ltd, according to a statement on the Land Department’s website yesterday. The site measures about 2,880 sq m and is designated for nonindustrial use with a minimum gross floor area of 25,920 sq m.

The record price for the site, currently used as a car park, underscores strong demand for office spaces in Hong Kong’s central area, where supply is scarce.

Since MTR Corp sold a waterfront site to build the city’s landmark International Finance Centre in 1996, no new supply has come on stream. The area’s vacancy rate was only about 1.5 percent in the first quarter, said CBRE Group Inc.

Henderson Land will develop an office building on the site with some retail facilities, an endeavour it expects to complete by 2022, the firm said. Bloomberg