by BLOOMBERG

HONG KONG • A consortium including Sino Land Co paid a record HK$17.3 billion (RM9.17 billion) for a plot of residential land in Hong Kong, signalling the property market is still running hot.

Shimao Property Holdings Ltd, Wheelock Properties Ltd, K Wah International Holdings Ltd and SEA Holdings Ltd were the other members of the group, the Lands Department said in a statement on Wednesday. The group beat out nine other bidders, including Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd and New World Development Co.

Hong Kong’s residential property market, the world’s most expensive, continues to hit fresh highs even as cracks start to appear in the outlook for prices amid rising interest rates.

Commercial property, where Hong Kong rents are the highest in the world, is also in demand. A Chinese state firm this month led the record HK$40.2 billion acquisition of a 75% stake in The Center, from Li Ka-shing’s CK Asset Holdings Ltd.

The site sold yesterday at Cheung Sha Wan in Kowloon has a maximum floor area of 91,770 sq m. The price is a record for residential land, surpassing the HK$16.9 billion paid for a site in Ap Lei Chau in February.

At a land cost price of HK$17,500 per sq ft, the implied selling price when the development is completed in three or four years would range from US$30,000 to US$33,000 (RM137,940) per sq ft, said Raymond Cheng, director of Hong Kong and China property research at CIMB Securities Ltd. — Bloomberg