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South China Morning Post
29-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's Law Society swoops down on entire floor of offices at The Center at half price
The Law Society of Hong Kong has bought an entire floor of offices in what was formerly the world's most expensive tower at a 50 per cent discount, the latest among astute investors who are picking up property in the city at bargain prices. Advertisement The Law Society paid HK$345 million (US$44 million), or HK$14,000 per sq ft, for 24,980 sq ft (2,320 square metres) on the 26th floor of The Center from Gale Well Group. The property in the Central district was handed over to the Law Society on July 25, according to the Land Registry. The purchase price was half of the HK$693 million that Gale Well paid in 2021, when its founder and CEO Jacinto Tong Man-leung bought the property from the late Ma Ah-muk. Ma, dubbed Hong Kong's Minibus King, passed away in March last year. The Law Society is still gathering views from its members for the design of the office floor and has not decided on the date for moving in, a member said. An interview with property investment firm Gale Well Group's vice chairman and CEO Jacinto Tong Man-leung on February 25, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Wong The Center, a 73-storey office tower, was sold in 2018 for a record HK$40.2 billion (US$5.2 billion) by the city's wealthiest man, Li Ka-shing, to a group of 10 local tycoons in what was then the world's priciest property deal. Not long after the transaction, Hong Kong's economy was driven into a slump by six months of anti-government protests and three years of the Covid-19 pandemic. Advertisement
South China Morning Post
27-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong's Gale Well reels from market downturn, loses US$6.5 million on 2 asset sales
Hong Kong property investment firm Gale Well Group, which has been divesting assets, sold three shops this month, incurring a loss of more than HK$51 million (US$6.5 million) on two of them, as the city's retail real estate market remains mired in a downturn. Gale Well sold a 2,780 sq ft street-level shop at King Kwong Street in Happy Valley for HK$28.8 million, nearly 40 per cent lower than the HK$46 million it paid in 2008, according to Land Registry data. The transaction was completed on May 23 through a holding company, Fine Keen Investment. Gale Well chairman Rita Tong Liu is a director at Fine Keen, according to the Companies Registry. The company also sold a 1,537 sq ft shop on the ground floor of Haleson Building in Central for HK$38.8 million, according to property agents. The price represented a 47 per cent loss on the HK$72.8 million paid in 2011 by Parkmax Investment, according to the Land Registry. Liu is a Parkmax director. Gale Well's third divestment was a 21,702 sq ft three-storey shop on Morrison Hill Road in Causeway Bay for HK$110 million, according to Savills, which handled the sale. The transaction resulted in a profit of 49 per cent for Keenplan International, which bought the property for HK$73.8 million in 2005, according to the Land Registry. Liu is a director of Keenplan. Rita Tong Liu, chairman of Gale Well Group, pictured in June 2018. Photo: Edmond So Last week, Gale Well appointed Savills as the agent for three shops in North Point, Causeway Bay and Wan Chai, which have a combined indicative price of HK$190 million.
Business Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Hong Kong's rich families sell their own dwellings to cut debt
[HONG KONG] Hong Kong's rich families are learning about the unpredictability of market downturns. Now some have to sell the homes they live in to cut debt. This week, a sea-view villa previously owned by wealthy businessman Chan Ping Che was listed by receivers for HK$430 million (S$71 million). Meanwhile, investment firm Gale Well Group's chief executive officer Jacinto Tong sold his penthouse apartment for HK$138 million last month, according to land registry filings. Chan, known as Hong Kong's 'King of Cassettes' for the source of his fortune, defaulted on a loan worth about HK$350 million in principal and interest from Fubon Bank Hong Kong earlier this year, he said on Wednesday (May 21). Last month, receivers took over the mansion he and his family were living in since the 1980s. Chan had tried to sell the property since late 2023, but did not manage to find a buyer, he said by phone. Hong Kong has seen a flurry of mansion firesales, following years of high interest rates and a property downturn. Despite a recent decline in borrowing costs in the city, residential prices are still hovering at an eight-year low, according to the Centaline Property Centa-City Leading Index. The city's prime office vacancies are set to increase, driving rents down by 8 to 10 per cent this year, according to Colliers International Group. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond. Sign Up Sign Up 'People often use leverage to purchase additional properties, amplifying returns when prices rise, but also magnifying losses when prices drop,' said Christopher So, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Hong Kong. 'As the market weakens, rental demand and yields also decrease, impacting cash flow for servicing debt and leading to rising rate of default.' Chan bet big on Hong Kong property, investing in residential units, retail shops and parking spaces. He made his name in real estate in 2017 when he joined a consortium to spend US$5.2 billion to take over most floors of the Center, a skyscraper in the financial hub's business district. He sold two floors to DBS Bank for more than HK$1.3 billion combined last year, according to land registry filings. It was lower than what he paid for, local media reported. For Gale Well's Tong, he and his sister, Rita Tong put about HK$2.2 billion worth of properties up for sale this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They include luxury homes, offices and shop space. In November, Jacinto Tong said that 'making money or posting a loss is a secondary matter, and the most important thing is to avoid negative equity', according to his Facebook post for a hotel sale. He added that the company was trying to maintain a healthy leverage ratio. Tong did not immediately respond to phone calls by Bloomberg News. 'Investors suffering significant losses from office properties might need to consider selling their residential properties to repay debt,' said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Patrick Wong. The latter are still seeing stronger demand from investors and mainland population inflows, he said. Last year, a prominent local clan led by Ho Shung Pun sold seven luxury houses at the Peak to pay back private loans. The flurry of offerings adds pressure to a property market that's seen one of its longest downturns. Home prices are 29 per cent below their peak in 2021, government data show. The number of households with negative equity – when the value of a property is lower than the outstanding mortgage loan – rose to the highest since 2003 at the end of March. Luxury home transactions have been improving since the last quarter of 2024, but prices are not reflecting the sentiment due to a surplus of distressed assets, according to a Savills report in March. BLOOMBERG
Straits Times
21-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Hong Kong's rich families sell their own homes to cut debt
Hong Kong has seen a flurry of mansion firesales, following years of high interest rates and a property downturn. PHOTO: ST FILE HONG KONG - Hong Kong's rich families are learning about the unpredictability of market downturns. Now some have to sell the homes they live in to cut debt. This week, a sea-view villa previously owned by wealthy businessman Chan Ping Che was listed by receivers for HK$430 million (S$70.9 million). Meanwhile, investment firm Gale Well Group's chief executive officer Jacinto Tong sold his penthouse apartment for HK$138 million in April, according to land registry filings. Mr Chan, known as Hong Kong's 'King of Cassettes' for the source of his fortune, defaulted on a loan worth about HK$350 million in principal and interest from Fubon Bank Hong Kong earlier in 2025, he said in a phone interview on May 21. In April, receivers took over the mansion he and his family were living in since the 1980s. Mr Chan had tried to sell the property since late 2023, but didn't manage to find a buyer. Hong Kong has seen a flurry of mansion firesales, following years of high interest rates and a property downturn. Despite a recent decline in borrowing costs in the city, residential prices are still hovering at an eight-year low, according to the Centaline Property Centa-City Leading Index. The city's prime office vacancies are set to increase, driving rents down by 8 per cent to 10 per cent this year, according to Colliers International Group. 'People often use leverage to purchase additional properties, amplifying returns when prices rise, but also magnifying losses when prices drop,' said Christopher So, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Hong Kong. 'As the market weakens, rental demand and yields also decrease, impacting cash flow for servicing debt and leading to rising rate of default.' Mr Chan bet big on Hong Kong property, investing in residential units, retail shops and parking spaces. He made his name in real estate in 2017 when he joined a consortium to spend US$5.2 billion (S$6.7 billion) to take over most floors of the Center, a skyscraper in the financial hub's business district. He sold two floors to DBS Bank for more than HK$1.3 billion combined last year, according to land registry filings. It was lower than what he paid for, local media reported. For Gale Well's Mr Tong, he and his sister Rita Tong put about HK$2.2 billion worth of properties up for sale this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They include luxury homes, offices and a shop space. In November, Jacinto Tong said 'making money or posting a loss is a secondary matter, and the most important thing is to avoid negative equity,' according to his Facebook post for a hotel sale. He added that the company was trying to maintain a healthy leverage ratio. Last year, a prominent local clan led by Ho Shung Pun sold seven luxury houses at the Peak to pay back private loans. The flurry of offerings adds pressure to a property market that's seen one of its longest downturns. Home prices are 29 per cent below their peak in 2021, government data show. The number of households with negative equity – when the value of a property is lower than the outstanding mortgage loan – rose to the highest since 2003 at the end of March. Luxury home transactions have been improving since the last quarter of 2024, but prices aren't reflecting the sentiment due to a surplus of distressed assets, according to a Savills report in March. BLOOMBERG Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Bloomberg
21-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Hong Kong's Rich Families Sell Their Own Dwellings to Cut Debt
Hong Kong's rich families are learning about the unpredictability of market downturns. Now some have to sell the homes they live in to cut debt. This week, a sea-view villa previously owned by wealthy businessman Chan Ping Che was listed by receivers for HK$430 million ($55 million). Meanwhile investment firm Gale Well Group Ltd.'s Chief Executive Officer Jacinto Tong sold his penthouse apartment for HK$138 million last month, according to land registry filings.
