The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
A consortium of Hong Kong property firms led by Henderson Land Development Co. is in talks with banks to raise about HK$46 billion ($5.9 billion) via bonds and loans to fund a residential project in the city’s Yau Tong Bay, according to people familiar with the matter.
The group also includes Wheelock & Co., New World Development Co., Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd., Hang Lung Properties Ltd. and Central Development Ltd., and funding is expected to be available next June, said the people, who aren’t authorised to speak publicly and asked not to be identified. No final decisions regarding the transaction have been made, they said.
If developed, the Yau Tong site would be the largest mixed-use project in Hong Kong in 21 years, according to Thomas Lam, an executive
director at Knight Frank LLP.
The city’s Buildings Department has granted a permit to construct 30 residential towers and the project, at the southeastern end of Kowloon, is expected to provide about 6,200 apartments in its initial phases, the Hong Kong Economic Times reported last year.
Media representatives at Henderson Land, Hang Lung and Wheelock didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Officials at New World Development and Sun Hung Kai also didn’t respond to a text message seeking comment. A person who answered the general line at Central Development said nobody was immediately available.
Henderson Land has a 22.8 percent interest in the project, according to an interim report in September. The development’s layout plan was approved in 2015, and is still pending finalization of a land premium with the government, according to the document.