Henderson Land rides the challenging times

Projects in Shanghai are expected to be slowed by about six months due to lockdowns, a top executive of Henderson Land Development (0012) said at the annual meeting yesterday.

But as Shanghai authorities are now rolling back Covid restrictions in the city the situation is starting to improve, co-chairman Peter Lee Ka-kit said, and so the developer expects to catch up on progress considerably in the second half of the year.

Lee also said the overall residential property market in the mainland remains sluggish, but the central government has introduced various measures to support the stressed sector. Some cities have even canceled home purchase restrictions, Lee said, and he believes the sector can get through this difficult period well enough.

In the Hong Kong market, Henderson has reported an improved turnover during the past two months as Covid has eased. As long as the pandemic is under control and the Hong Kong economy recovers, said Martin Lee Ka-shing, the other co-chairman, the property market will still thrive even with modest inflation and interest rate hikes.

Locations and prices of sites are the two major factors to consider when it comes to land purchases, he added, while stressing that Henderson has a large number of redevelopment projects and an abundant land bank at present.

Some redevelopments in urban areas may not be affected by a minimum flat size requirement, Martin Lee also said, and small-size homes can cater to the demand of first-time buyers.