Kerry buys 17 Kwu Tung sites for $500m

Kerry Properties (0683) has splashed nearly HK$500 million for 17 agricultural sites in Kwu Tung, part of which will be converted for residential purposes.

The land is close to Kwu Tung Station of the Northern Link, which is proposed to be completed in 2027.

The property company said it is very confident in the potential of the Kwu Tung North New Development Area and will make full use of the experience of community building, as well as combine the development opportunities of the Greater Bay Area to develop Kwu Tung North into a high-quality community.

Previously, Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016) had spent HK$8.61 billion for the 18,567-square-meter residential site in Kwu Tung.

Last month, Wheelock Properties purchased an 82,000-sq-ft residential site in Kwu Tung for HK$4.19 billion.

Meanwhile, four shops and 16 units at Lee Garden Road and Percival Street together were put up for sale via tender with a market valuation of HK$1.8 billion combined. Joseph Tsang, chairman at JLL in Hong Kong, said this batch of properties is located in the core area of Causeway Bay, and therefore enjoys great retail and redevelopment value.

The tender will end at noon on September 28.

In another deal, a 709-sq-ft unit of Tai Koo Shing changed hands for HK$14.3 million after the price was lowered by 2 percent. The average price of the unit is HK$20,169 per sq ft.

Excluding the fees, the vendor made a profit of HK$11.54 million after having held the property for 19 years. The price rose 4.2 times over the period.