Hong Kong skyscraper sold for $5.2 bn record

Li Ka-shing's CK Asset Holdings confirmed Wednesday that it had sold his interest in The Center, the fifth-tallest building in Hong Kong, for $5.2 billion, setting a record for a Hong Kong office tower and showing that the city's commercial property market remains red hot. CK Asset Holdings said it expects to make a profit of $1.9 billion.
The buyer is C.H.M.T. Peaceful Development Asia Property Limited, an investment vehicle registered in the British Virgin Islands that was created for the purchase.

The sale gives CK Asset, which has changed its name from CK Property, extra cash as it diversifies away from its main real-estate business. CK Asset and affiliate CK Infrastructure Holdings Ltd. earlier this year agreed to buy a German maker of smart meters for about 4.5 billion euros ($5.3 billion), building on the company's expansion in infrastructure and energy.

With a fortune estimated at $25 billion, Li is by far the richest man in Hong Kong, where he is known as "Superman." In recent years Li has jostled with property magnate Wang Jianlin and Alibaba founder Jack Ma for title of richest person in Asia.

CK Asset's properties, which include the Cheung Kong Center and Hutchison House, spanned about 17 million square feet (1.6 million square meters) as of June, with more than 80 per cent located in Hong Kong, according to the company.

The 73-story tower in the Central business district is the city's fifth-tallest, according to the Skyscraper Center. Hong Kong's skyscrapers command the highest rents in the world, according to a report from Knight Frank, which said rental costs are more than four times higher than in Singapore. Rental growth will continue to be robust on an influx of mainland Chinese tenants, Knight Frank said.