Latest news with #CKAsset
HKFP
23-05-2025
- Business
- HKFP
Hong Kong anti-graft watchdog arrest 10 in suspected bribery case linked to CK Asset building project
Hong Kong's anti-graft watchdog has arrested 10 men in a suspected bribery case linked to real estate giant CK Asset's residential project in Kwun Tong, in which sub-contractors allegedly offered incentives in exchange for lax oversight of steel reinforcement works. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said on Wednesday that the 10, aged between 29 and 52, included an employee of the main contractor, five proprietors, operators or employees of subcontractors, and four site supervisors of a consultancy firm. They were arrested on suspicion of bribery, conspiracy to defraud, and using false documents. In an emailed reply to HKFP on Thursday, CK Asset said it was 'highly concerned' about the alleged bribery at the Anderson Road project site. The company said it supported the ICAC's operation and had completed 'preliminary inspection' of the project concerned, adding that it was in touch with the Buildings Department for follow-up actions. The Anderson Road project in Kwun Tong consists of six residential buildings, offering a total of 2,926 units, of which at least 1,000 will be sold at 80 per cent of market value under the government's 'starter homes' scheme for Hong Kong residents. CK Asset won the tender with a HK$4.9 billion bid in May 2020. Matthew Chang, principal investigator at the ICAC, said at a press conference on Wednesday that the ICAC suspected that some sub-contractors were hoping to increase their profits by not following the approved building plan, thereby cutting costs. 'They dangled carrots in front of site supervisors in exchange for their lax supervision and tolerance of construction works that did not meet regulations,' Chang said in Cantonese. Cash, coupons, fine-dining Lui Kar-chung, chief investigator at the ICAC, said during the same press conference that the watchdog received a complaint about the alleged bribery last year. At first, the complaint involved only one of the six buildings under construction, Lui said. But the investigation was expanded, and the ICAC found that all six buildings had installed steel rebars that did not match the approved construction plan. The problems 'included rebars having wider gaps in between, being fewer in numbers, thinner, absent, not linked, or offset in positions,' Lui said. In some locations, rebars – a type of steel reinforcement – were 530 millimetres off their positions in the approved building plan, he said. The ICAC investigation found that the sub-contractors had offered the main contractor and site supervisors cash between thousands to tens of thousands of dollars as well as mooncake vouchers, Lui said. They also visited fine dining restaurants that 'charge thousands of dollars per head' and night clubs, he added. Bon Ko, the chief structural engineer at the Buildings Department, said in the same press conference that the department also launched its own inspections at the Anderson Road project last September following a complaint it received about suspected violations of the Buildings Ordinance last August. Following four inspections, the department ordered the developer to stop construction after finding insufficient steel rebars at some roofs of the six buildings, Ko said. She added that subsequent concrete opening-up work revealed that steel rebars in all six buildings had shown 'serious deviations' from the approved plan. But the department concluded that the buildings did not show immediate danger after considering the size of the problematic areas and surrounding structures, she said. On average, the load-bearing rebars were 10 per cent fewer in number than specified in the approved plan, Ko said. The Buildings Department is consulting the Department of Justice on potential prosecutions, she added.
South China Morning Post
22-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong developer CK Asset set to weather ‘stress test' conditions, chairman says
CK Asset Holdings , the flagship property developer of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing 's family, will weather the 'doldrums' in the city's commercial leasing market amid global economic uncertainties, according to chairman Victor Li Tzar-kuoi. 'No industry in this world is always well-performing, and demand for Hong Kong's retail and office properties is indeed slow at the moment,' the eldest son of Li Ka-shing said during the company's annual general meeting on Thursday. 'With approximately 88 per cent of our profit contribution coming from projects with recurring income, we are able to withstand the challenges of the local leasing market,' Li added. It will take time for the Hong Kong office market to emerge from its malaise, he said. The overall occupancy rate of CK Asset's current investment property portfolio in Hong Kong was around 86 per cent, Li said. Property agents estimated that CKC II, the developer's new tower in Admiralty, was 20 per cent occupied. Li did not provide occupancy figures for the building. 'We hope that when the market improves, CKC II's leasing performance will be better and better,' he said.
South China Morning Post
22-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
CK Asset's Anderson Road project scandal in Hong Kong: a timeline of events
A CK Asset residential project in Hong Kong has been under the spotlight after the anti-corruption agency arrested 10 suspects and uncovered subcontractors allegedly offering incentives to site supervisors in exchange for lax oversight of subpar steel reinforcement work. The latest bribery scandal is not the only hiccup for the project in Kwun Tong, which had its contractor changed in 2023 and its presale consent application rejected twice last year. The Post tracks the project's development and controversies surrounding it. March 2020: tender invite Designated as Hong Kong's second 'starter home' project, the government invited tenders for the site on Anderson Road in Kwun Tong to help first-time flat buyers who are not eligible for subsidised housing. Apart from providing private housing, at least 1,000 flats in the project have to be sold at 80 per cent of the market prices to Hongkongers who have never owned any residential property and met income and asset limits. May 2020: successful bidder revealed CK Asset's subsidiary Art Champion Investment beat eight other contenders, including companies under key developers in the city, and won the bid at a premium of HK$4.9 billion (US$625.7 million).
South China Morning Post
22-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Collective oversight to blame in Hong Kong's CK Asset building scandal: experts
A bribery scandal involving a 10 per cent shortfall of steel rebar in a residential project under Hong Kong real estate giant CK Asset was the result of collective and wilful oversight at the construction site, independent engineers have warned. While describing the incident as rare, they agreed that the government should step up inspection efforts in the city's construction sites. The bribery scandal, revealed by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Wednesday , focused on CK Asset's Anderson Road project in Kwun Tong, which consists of six residential towers providing 2,926 flats, including about 1,000 that are designated under a 'starter homes' pilot scheme for Hong Kong residents. Site supervisors are alleged to have accepted offers, including red packets, mooncake vouchers and lavish meals, from a subcontractor asking for lenient oversight of subpar construction practices, which deviated from the construction plans approved by the Buildings Department in a bid to maximise profits and save costs. Investigations revealed that reinforcement bars in concrete in all six buildings were either thinner than required, missing, displaced or loosely arranged, failing to comply with approved building plans. The number of main reinforcement bars in structural components was, on average, 10 per cent below approved specifications. At some spots in towers 1 and 2, dislocations were as much as 530mm, the probe found.
South China Morning Post
21-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
10 arrested in Hong Kong in bribery case centred on CK Asset development
A CK Asset residential project in Hong Kong has been caught up in a bribery scandal after the city's graft-buster uncovered subcontractors allegedly offering incentives to site supervisors in exchange for lax oversight of subpar steel reinforcement work. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) said on Wednesday that of 10 suspects, aged 29 to 52, arrested in connection with the case, one was an employee of the main contractor, five worked for several subcontractors and four were site supervisors at an engineering consultancy. At the centre of the controversy is CK Asset's Anderson Road project in Kwun Tong, which consists of six residential towers providing 2,926 flats, including about 1,000 that are designated under a 'starter homes' pilot scheme for residents. The ICAC said some individuals allegedly provided illicit incentives to site supervisors in exchange for lenient oversight of subpar construction practices. The perks included cash rewards ranging from thousands to tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars, a large number of mooncake vouchers, lavish meals at high-end restaurants costing thousands per person, and entertainment at nightclubs costing between HK$20,000 and HK$30,000 on each occasion, the anti-corruption agency said. Those arrested are suspected to have committed offences including bribery, accepting bribes, conspiracy to defraud and using false instruments.
