Former Midland IC&I executive director flips freshly bought shop space for 60pc profit in less than a month

Tony Lo Chin-ho, the former executive director of Midland IC&I, has made a staggering profit of HK$8.8 million – more than 60 percent of his investment – after holding a shop in Kwun Tong for just three weeks, despite a sluggish rental market.

The 750-square-foot shop was sold for HK$23.8 million, or about HK$32,000 per square foot. Last month, Lo bought the store for HK$15 million.

It is currently leased to a jewelry store for a monthly rent of HK$100,000, yielding a return of 5 percent.

Lo purchased three shops this year, including acquisitions of a 500-sq-ft shop in North Point for HK$13.6 million and a 1,300-sq-ft store in Mong Kok for HK$20.8 million.

He said that he did not expect such swift gains when he purchased the property, while adding that the sale proves his investment acumen.

This is by far not his first success in acquiring shops. He had previously purchased store space on Hollywood Road for nearly HK$100 million which he sold for HK$400 million several years later, marking a HK$300 million profit.

Looking ahead, he expects the price of the shop to stagnate in the next two to three years, as the buyer will be reluctant to offer higher prices, given current low rental yields.

HELEN ZHONG