The Hong Kong commercial property market has been in a slump since mid-2019, making banks increasingly wary of refinancing the sector over the past few years, especially those that are smaller second and third-tier developers.
As a result, some second and third-tier developers as well as private investors have been forced to sell property to repay debt, while — perhaps because of the systemic risk they pose to Hong Kong’s economy — banks continue to refinance most large first-tier companies and are granting them forbearance when they are under stress, as Hong Kong-listed New World Development’s restructuring of its HKD 88.2bn (USD 11.31bn) of unsecured bank loans on 30 June highlighted.
Landlords that have been forced to sell this year have had to accept steep losses relative to valuations seen about a decade ago. The market prices of Grade A office buildings in Hong Kong’s core commercial districts has fallen 60% from its peak in December 2018, according to data from the Hong Kong government’s Rating and Valuation Department.
The steady supply of commercial and retail space in the Hong Kong commercial property market in recent years has led to excess inventory. Aggregate Grade A office vacancy rose from around 5 million square feet in mid-2019 to slightly above 15 million square feet as of end-2024, which is larger than the size of all existing offices in the prime Central district and will require at least seven years to be absorbed, according to a 18 March CBRE report.
A bright spot in Hong Kong’s commercial real estate sector are transactions related to student accommodations. Amid a surge in students from mainland China and overseas, a total of eight hotel deals with a total transaction value of HKD 4.61bn (USD 591m) were recorded in 2025 through 12 December, with most of them marketed as suitable for conversion into dormitories. An additional nine hotels with a total indicative value of HKD 7.95bn (USD 1.02bn) are being marketed for sale for conversion into student dormitories, Debtwire’s records show.
Sales dominated by buildings 30 years or older as well as properties purchases during the 2015-2018 market peak
Debtwire recorded 54 commercial real estate (CRE) property transactions totalling HKD 36.78bn (USD 4.72bn) completed this year to 12 December, of which 46.6% or HKD 17.14bn (USD 2.2bn) for 26 properties were built 30 or more years ago.
Commercial units in buildings that were either under development or built less than 16 years ago accounted for 13 of the 54 completed CRE transactions.
Meanwhile, 16 properties that were put up for sale during the year, but which had yet to have been sold as of 12 December, were less than 30 years old, according to Debtwire records. These 16 assets had a total indicative value of HKD 21.7bn (USD 2.78bn), equivalent to 76.3% of the 34 properties for sale with a total indicative value of HKD 28.44bn (USD 3.65bn), according to Debtwire records.
Debtwire’s record of properties that were up for sale in 2025 was compiled from various news reports and public listings.
The bulk of the 54 CRE property transactions totalling HKD 36.78bn (USD 4.72bn) completed this year was initiated by private investors and smaller developers, some which were reportedly experiencing liquidity stresses because they were unable to roll or refinance property-backed loans amid a decline in valuations. The group includes asset managers Gaw Capital and Schroders Capital; private investors Ma Ah-muk, Tang Shing-bor, David Chan Ping-Chi, Ho Shung Pun and Jacinto Tong (via Gale Well Group); and smaller developers Emperor International and Parkview Group. Many of them had purchased the properties they sold this year during the 2015-2018 market peak.
Among the 54 properties that were disposed, 16 were assets in Hong Kong’s Central district which sold for an aggregate HKD 15.9bn (USD 2.04bn). Of those 16 properties sold in Central, eight were for units or floors at the iconic The Center office tower. Those eight properties with a total gross floor area of 134,254 sq ft sold for an aggregate HKD 2.99bn (USD 383.3m), or 30%-40% below the HKD 33,000 per square foot (psf) average price Li-Ka Shing’s CK Asset Holdings off-loaded the whole 73-storey building (with a total 1.6 million sq ft) to a consortium of investors in late-2017.
Fewer transactions from top-flight developers and of newer buildings
Hong Kong’s largest conglomerates and developers have undertaken very few asset sales partly because they have generally maintained solid access to bank loans.
Thus, out of the 54 property transactions that occurred this year, only four were from some of city’s largest developers. But those four sales from Jardine Matheson, Henderson Land, Sun Hung Kai Properties for a total of HKD 16.73bn (USD 2.14bn), accounted for 45.9% of the total HKD 36.78bn transacted this year.
Jardine Matheson’s commercial property flagship Hongkong Land reaped HKD 6.3bn (USD 808m) from selling nine floors and retail space in One Exchange Square in the prime Central district at nearly HKD 43,000 psf to the Hong Kong stock exchange, per the company’s 24 April announcement.
Meanwhile, China tech giants Alibaba and JD.com’s have seized Hong Kong’s real estate downturn as an opportunity to acquire trophy assets to use as a base for their new offshore corporate headquarters.
Alibaba Group and Ant Financial in October purchased 15 floors of Mandarin Oriental’s under-construction One Causeway Bay development for around HKD 24,000 psf or a total of HKD 7.2bn (USD 923m). Mandarin Oriental is Jardine Matheson’s hospitality unit.
Not to be outdone, JD.com in December purchased from Lai Sun Development a 50%-stake in CCB Tower — located in the core of Central — for HKD 3.5bn (USD 448m).
New World Development (NWD)’s bank loan restructuring completed in June, involved the company pledging to its lenders the bulk of its Hong Kong and China commercial investment properties and gave the developer a two-three-year liquidity runway to try and ride out the currently depressed property market, as noted in Debtwire’s 30 September credit report. The Henry Cheng family-controlled company’s bank loan restructuring, which NWD and its lenders euphemistically termed a refinancing and which was overseen by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, avoided the prospect of the developer being forced to sell properties and sparking systemic property and financial crash.
NWD was considering selling its 11 Skies mall near Hong Kong’s international airport for HKD 15bn-HKD 17bn (USD 1.92bn-USD 2.18bn), according to a 16 July Bloomberg report. The airport mall isn’t part of the pledged collateral for its refinancing.
Among the other notable commercial assets listed for sale are Hong Kong-listed Grand Ming Group’s two data centers in Tsuen Wan and Kwai Chung; Schroders and Chelsfield’s jointly owned Worfu Mall in North Point and Shimao Group’s Sheraton Hotel in Tung Chung.
Grand Ming was in breach of certain covenants on its banking facilities, its 1HFY26 through to 30 September interim results show. Lenders to the Worfu Mall in North Point appointed RSM as receivers over the asset following a default on a HKD 1.475bn (USD 189m) secured loan due-February 2025, as reported by Debtwire.
Hong Kong-listed Shimao completed a holistic restructuring of its offshore debt on 21 July 2025, in which the equity interest in the Sheraton Hotel subsidiary company was pledged to holders of the restructured offshore notes.
Hang Seng with highest non-performing loans ratio among Hong Kong’s major banks looking to sell CRE loans
Hang Seng Bank has not publicly disclosed that it completed any noteworthy non-performing loan (NPL) sales this year despite the bank having a relatively high NPL ratio.
The bank was in advanced talks to sell down at least USD 1bn in NPLs but discussions stalled after HSBC announced on 9 October a take-private offer for its 63%-owned Hong Kong-listed subsidiary, Debtwire reported on 19 November. Hang Seng was seeking to sell at least USD 1bn of property-backed loans, including those backed by assets from stressed developers Emperor International and Tai Hung Fai, according to a 17 September Bloomberg report.
Hang Seng’s NPL ratio is significantly higher than NPL ratios of the four other Domestic Systemically Important Authorised Institutions (D-SIBs), partly because of its significant exposure to commercial real estate loans, according to S&P. Meanwhile, the rise in NPL ratios at the other four D-SIBs has been rather modest throughout property sector’s downturn since 2019, the report notes.
Hang Seng’s NPL ratio grew to 6.69% as of 30 June 2025 from 1.04% as of 31 December 2021, according to its 1H25 financial statements, which also show that the bank’s CRE loan exposure at HKD 123.82bn (USD 15.87bn) was equivalent to 15.1% of its total loan book.
Hang Seng is most exposed among the five D-SIBs to commercial real estate. Its aggregate loan exposure to Hong Kong’s CRE sector was 15.7% of its total loan book as of 31 December 2024, markedly higher than that of the four other D-SIBs, data from S&P show.
Shanghai Commercial Bank is also aiming to sell at a deep discount by this year’s end at least two NPL portfolios comprising loans to small Hong Kong developers or that are secured by Hong Kong property assets, Debtwire reported on 19 November. The NPLs includes a total of HKD 1.7bn (USD 218m) loans the bank made to Stan Group (chaired by Tang Shing-bor’s son Stan Tang) and Hong Kong-listed developer Star Group Asia with those assets backed by Hong Kong real-estate, the Debtwire report adds.
Shanghai Commercial Bank’s NPL ratio was 5.68% as of 30 June 2025 versus 4.78% on 31 December 2024, the bank’s 1H25 report states.
Hong Kong office valuations decline amid increased vacancy, student accommodation bright spot
Grade A office rents across Hong Kong’s Central and Admiralty districts declined an average of 5.7% in the first nine-months of 2025 to 30 September amid a glut in supply. Grade A office rents have fallen by 43% in the past five years according to Savills’ 1H25 Hong Kong Offices report, while JLL data shows that Grade A average office vacancy rates in the city have surged to the low-to-mid-teens as of 30 September from mid-single digits prior to the pandemic in 2020.
Market values of properties have dropped more sharply than the decline in rents, resulting in a steady uptick in capitalisation rates since 4Q22, as shown in the graph below.
Hong Kong’s office market is likely to remain under pressure due to the deluge of new supply expected to come online next year, as shown in the graph below.
Some notable CRE related transactions in 2025 through to 12 December and recent years are outlined below.
Jardine Matheson undertakes rare sale of prime office space
Alibaba Group and Ant Financial announced on 17 October the purchase of several floors in under-construction One Causeway Bay, which is owned by Jardine Matheson’s hotel unit Mandarin Oriental International, for HKD 7.2bn (USD 925m). This was the single largest property transaction in Hong Kong in 2025, according to Debtwire records.
Mandarin Oriental plans to use the proceeds to repay USD 96m of loans drawn for the construction of the building, retain an additional 3% of the gross proceeds to fund the cost of the remaining construction and use the remainder to pay a special dividend of USD 0.6 per share, the hotel operator stated in a 17 October announcement.
The purchase price is equivalent to HKD 23,876 (USD 3,061) per sqft, based on the gross floor area of 301,555 sqft acquired by Alibaba and Ant Financial, Mingtiandi reported.
The second largest property transaction recorded in the year up to 12 December also involved a Jardine Matheson unit. The group’s flagship commercial real estate unit, Hongkong Land, in April signed an agreement to sell nine floors plus retail space in One Exchange Square to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) for HKD 6.3bn (USD 807.7m).
The purchase price was HKD 42,850 (USD 5,493) psf based on 147,025 sqft gross floor area acquired.
Strata sales in the Exchange Square complex are exceedingly uncommon. The last strata title sale recorded in the building was in 1988, when Hong Kong Land sold the 48/F and 49/F in Two Exchange Square to the American Club, according to a 24 April Mingtiandi report.
Henderson Land sells old building to own hotel unit to redevelop into new hotel
Henderson Land sold Champagne Court, Tsim Sha Tsui to connected party and hospitality unit, Miramar Hotel and Investment, for HKD 3.1bn (USD 400m) in January.
The move came just one year after Henderson Land completed the acquisition of Champagne Court’s Block B and an unspecified number of units in Block A of the 67-year old building, with a view to develop it into a 23-storey commercial building, Mingtiandi reported on 9 January 2024.
Under the revised plan, Hong Kong-listed Miramar will develop the site into a 99-room new hotel to alleviate pressure at its adjacent hotel, The Mira Hong Kong, Miramar stated in its announcement regarding the acquisition.
New World Development primes syndicated loans in HKD 88.2bn (USD 11.3bn) restructuring
Cheng family-controlled, Hong Kong-listed developer New World Development (NWD) in June signed an agreement to restructure HKD 88.2bn (USD 11.3bn) unsecured offshore loans, and in September also obtained an up to HKD 5.9bn (USD 756m), Deutsche Bank-arranged syndicated loan backed by a first-ranking mortgage over NWD’s flagship Tsim Sha Shui, Victoria Dockside project. These transactions effectively pledged all of NWD’s offshore unencumbered assets to its banks, leaving its USD bonds and perpetual securities structurally subordinated.
NWD followed up on 3 November by launching a liability-management exercise for it unsecured bonds and perpetual securities, the terms of which were improved on 10 November. Under the LME, completed on 5 December, NWD issued a total USD 1.18bn unsecured perps and USD 186.56m unsecured bonds in exchange for USD 2.29bn of its existing perps and USD 235.97m of its existing unsecured notes.
NWD, which spurned a HKD 9bn offer from a unit of China Resources for its K-11 Art Mall in Tsim Sha Tsui last year, in November reportedly placed on hold negotiations with Chinachem for the sale of an unspecified stake in the mall for HKD 5bn-HKD 6bn. The K11 Art Mall is part of the HKD 156.7bn (USD 20.08bn) security package pledged for the HKD 88.2bn (USD 11.3bn) restructured loans, as reported.
Negotiations between NWD’s controlling shareholders, the Cheng family, and potential partners on a HKD 10bn (USD 1.3bn) equity injection have also been stalled because of disagreements over the degree of control which will be exercised by the family after the proposed infusion, according to a 12 November Bloomberg report.
The company was seeking to sell its 11 Skies commercial property project near the Hong Kong International Airport, which has an indicative value of HKD 15bn-HKD 17bn (USD 1.92bn-USD 2.18bn), according to a 16 July Bloomberg report. NWD has sought to waive part of the guaranteed rent of the mall in discussions with the HK Airport Authority, according to a 22 September Bloomberg report.
Henry Cheng, patriarch of the Cheng family, has held preliminary talks with potential buyers for the Rosewood Hotel helmed by his daughter Sonia Cheng, Bloomberg reported on 1 December. Rosewood’s flagship hotel located at 18 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui, was valued at HKD 15bn (USD 1.9bn) in a debt swap proposal, the report stated.
The Center the centre of high-profile distressed strata office transactions
A total of eight transactions in which either entire floors or units at The Center occurred in 2025 through to 12 December, making the building the most actively transacted Hong Kong property asset during the year, according to Debtwire records. The eight properties were sold for a total HKD 2.99bn (USD 383.3m).
The pace of activity and the steep losses sellers incurred on their original investment as a result of their disposals this year may have been driven by the need to repay the high-yield debt those investors obtained in late 2017 to fund the acquisitions of their properties at The Center.
Indeed, many of the most high-profile distressed Hong Kong property sales in recent years involved members of a consortium that purchased 75% of the floor space at The Center from Li-Ka Shing’s CK Asset Holdings for an aggregate HKD 40.2bn (USD 5.15bn) in late-2017 – equivalent to an average price of around HKD 33,000 (USD 4,230) psf. The purchases of the assets in 2017 were funded in large part by high-interest rate loans provided by non-banks.
The HKMA instructed commercial banks not to lend to investors seeking to buy properties at The Center, according to a 29 June 2018 Reuters report. The central bank did so after learning that they planned to borrow as much as 90% loan-to-value. Consequently, the consortium funded their acquisitions by issuing a private-placed bond paying an interest rate of 7.5% and a mezzanine tranche paying 15.25% in the first year, according to the Reuters report.
The consortium members bought The Center assets on the view that they would be able to quickly sell the strata units at a profit. While the consortium members sold at a profit around 30% of the building’s total office space of 1.6 million sqft before June 2019, subsequent sales have occurred well below the 2017 average acquisition price.
David Chan Ping-chi aka “The Cassette King” sells properties; receivers seek to dispose others
Receivers appointed by Fubon Bank sold a three-storey mansion on 188 Victoria Road, Pok Fu Lam, formerly owned by David Chan Ping-chi, for HKD 315m (USD 40.3m) according to a 2 September report by The Standard, 26.7% lower than its indicative value of HKD 430m (USD 55.1m), according to sole agent Savills.
Chan placed another three-storey mansion on 51 Mount Davis Road for sale at an asking price of HKD 450m (USD 57.7m), according to a 3 September SCMP report.
Chan also listed a 13-storey, commercial building on 321 Java Road, North Point (formerly known as Phase 1 of Kodak House) for sale at HKD 6,000 (USD 769) psf, 44% lower than his asking price in 2020, according to a 25 September 2024 Mingtiandi report.
Receivers have marketed 130 shops in Sheung Wan’s Shun Tak Centre which they had seized from Chan and his co-owner, jailed Macau junket boss Alvin Chau Cheok-wah, the former Chairman of Suncity Group, the Mingtiandi report states.
Other disposals by Chan and related entities since late 2023 include an office unit in the West Tower of the Shun Tak Centre; a floor in a Quarry Bay industrial building; various shops and retail spaces in Sai Wan, Mong Kok, and Kwun Tong; a shopping centre in Kwai Chung; and a unit in a Tai Po industrial block; as well as a pair of apartments in Happy Valley and Pok Fu Lam, according to local media reports.
Chan, who was part of a consortium that acquired properties at The Center in 2017 had initially profited from his acquisition by selling the building’s 38th floor to an undisclosed mainland Chinese investor at HKD 42,000 psf in June 2019 – 27% more than the HKD 33,000 psf average acquisition price, according to the HK Economic Times.
However, by late-2023, Chan was only able to fetch HKD 27,811 psf when he sold the 67th floor for HKD 750m, according to a 6 December 2023 report in The Standard. He subsequently sold for around HKD 26,000 psf the 66th and 75th floors to DBS Bank in August 2024.
Chan sold the 48th floor to mainland developer Hopson Development Holdings for HKD 980m (USD 126.5m), or just under HKD 38,140 psf in October 2020. (Refer to Debtwire’s 3 October 2024 analyst snapshot for details of the property’s tenants, rental rates and debt arrangements).
Ma Ah-muk aka Minibus King sells out
Ma, the owner of Hong Kong’s largest minibus operator, began liquidating his real estate assets in 2019. Ma passed away in 2024 but his estate has continued to dispose of his real estate assets.
He acquired 13 floors in The Center in 2017 as part of the consortium that acquired the building in 2017. His estate sold the 52th floor in the building to Prosperous Global Investment for HKD 565m (USD 72.4m) in November 2025, equivalent to HKD 22,000 psf, according to a 26 November SCMP report. Prosperous Global is a recently incorporated Hong Kong entity, according to the report.
Ma’s estate placed seven units on the 27th floor of The Center, as well as the entire 45th floor of the building, for sale according to a 1 May Mingtiandi report. Of these, two units on the 27th have been offered at an indicative price of HKD 18,800 psf (USD 2,410), 43% below the average price at which the consortium acquired the building in 2017, the report states.
Ma’s family has put the 2/F of the Peninsula Centre in Tsim Sha Tsui on the market for HKD 420m (USD 23.8m), according to a 9 September 2024 report by The Standard.
The Ma family’s Eco Tree Hotel at 160 Des Voeux Road West in the city’s Sai Ying Pun area was still on the market as of 1 May, according to Mingtiandi. The family rejected an investor’s offer of HKD 450m (USD 57.7m) for the budget hotel in November 2024, according to local media reports.
Ma’s portfolio also includes the Ka Fuk Shopping Centre in Fanling, the Shek Yam Shopping Centre in Kwai Chung, and the Kwai Hing Shopping Center in Kwai Chung, which were acquired from Hong Kong-listed Link REIT, as well as a residential and commercial block at 60-62 Yee Wo Street in Causeway Bay, according to the Mingtiandi report.
Other asset sales by Ma and his family since 2020 include a Tsim Sha Tsui commercial building, a Kwun Tong industrial block, and a floor in the China Merchants Tower of Sheung Wan’s Shun Tak Centre, as well as various street shops and car parks across the city, the Mingtiandi report states.
Gale Well Group sales
The real estate investment company, founded by Vice Chairman and CEO Jacinto Tong Man-Leung, sold the 26/F in The Center for HKD 345m or around HKD 14,000 (USD 1,794) psf in July 2025 to Hong Kong’s Law Society, 49.5% less than what it paid to acquire the floor from Ma Ah-muk in 2021, according to a 25 July SCMP report.
Gale Well sold the 39/F of the Far East Finance Centre in Admiralty for HKD 194.4m (USD 25m) in April, equivalent to approximately HKD 18,000 psf, according to a 15 April Mingtiandi report.
In March, Gale Well sold a luxury apartment building at 68-70 Chung Hom Kok Road for HKD 220m, which followed its sale of The Sun’s Group Centre in Wan Chai for HKD 79.8m (USD 10.2m) in February, the report stated.
Furthermore, Gale Well raised HKD 440m (USD 56.4m) from the sale of the 35/F in the Shun Tak Centre in Sheung Wan, equivalent to around HKD 20,000 (USD 2,564) psf, the HK Economic Times reported on 18 July.
Gale Well sold a 21-storey commercial building on 83 Austin Road in Kowloon, known as Austin Plaza, for HKD 618m (USD 79.2m) on 25 September, Squarefoot reported citing Land Registry filings.
The company placed a nine-flat apartment building on 8 Stanley Beach Road for sale at an asking price of HKD 520m (USD 66.7m), the SCMP reported on 28 May. In November 2024, Gale Well began marketing its 98-room Butterly hotel at 39 Morrison Hill Road in Causeway Bay worth around HKD 630m (USD 80.8m) and the 39/F in Tower 2 of the Lippo Centre office complex in Admiralty with a price tag of HKD 277m (USD 35.5m), Mingtiandi reported on 15 April.
Hui Wing Mau/Shimao
Distressed Chinese developer Shimao Group’s founder Hui Wing Mao sold three units on the 55/F of The Center for HKD 142m (USD 18.2m), at an average price of HKD 21,903 psf, The Standard reported on 13 August 2025. Hui put the entire 37/F of the building up for sale at an indicative price of HKD 559m (USD 71.7m) or HKD 22,000 psf, according to a 1 May 2025 Mingtiandi report.
UOB rolled over a HKD 10bn (USD 1.3bn) loan secured by Shimao Group’s luxury Beacon Peak in Kowloon Tong by three years, after negotiations with investors like Davidson Kempner Capital Management and Ares Management Corp failed to result in a sale of the loan, Bloomberg reported on 9 September. The move came after the company sold just 17 units in the 322-unit development as of 2 September in the about eight months since it was first marketed for sale on 18 January 2025, according to Land Registry records. The developer sold 18 units after 2 September as of 21 November 2025 land registry records show. UOB acquired other banks’ holds of the loan in 2022 to become the sole lender to the facility, the Bloomberg report states.
UOB set aside its largest ever general loan loss provision of SGD 615m (USD 470m) in anticipation of potential losses in the Hong Kong and US property markets, according to the transcript of the bank’s 3Q25 results call held on 6 November.
Gaw Capital entities struggles to refi loans
As a borrower
Gaw Capital controlled Wingo Ltd’s request to refinance a HKD 3.06bn (USD 390m) loan secured by the Foyer office building in North Point encountered resistance from lenders, who initially demanded a bigger prepayment than the HKD 100m eventually made by the debtor to refinance the loan, Debtwire reported on 4 July.
Harmony Lotus, another Gaw Capital entity, was able to clinch unanimous bank lender consent to amend and extend for five years without prepayment a separate HKD 10.34bn (USD 1.33bn) secured loan after banks reluctantly agreed to the borrower’s request to stave off a default, Debtwire reported on 12 May. The loans are secured by Gaw’s 65% stake in Cityplaza Three and Cityplaza Four office towers in Taikoo Shing/Quarry Bay, which it acquired for HKD 15bn (USD 1.9bn) together with Hengli investments in 2019.
Gaw was forced by lenders to inject additional equity into the buildings’ holdco amid high interest rates and diminished cash flow generation from the assets. Dalian Wanda-linked Chinese tycoon Chen Chang Wei- controlled Hengli Investments, holding the remaining 35% stake in the two buildings, did not contribute in the funding, forcing Gaw to shoulder Hengli’s share from its own funds, according to a 21 June 2024 LPC report.
Gaw Capital also teamed up with Schroder’s Pamfleet and BOC Life to acquire Cityplaza One for HKD 7.27bn (USD 932m) in 2020. The consortium raised a HKD 5.41bn (USD 693.6m) loan due 2027 in late-2024 to partly refinance a HKD 5.96bn, H+ 175bps bullet loan due December 2024, with the remaining HKD 550m (USD 70.5m) repaid by Gaw Capital and Schroder Pamfleet. Just nine of the original 21 banks opted to participate in the refinancing, Debtwire reported on 17 March. China Citic Financial AMC bought around HKD 1bn (USD 130m) of the loan due-2027, Debtwire reported on 22 May.
Gaw Capital also refinanced in May 2025 loans secured by its 12 Tai Koo Wan Road and 14 Tai Koo Wan Road office properties with a three-year loan, and in December 2024, a loan secured by office properties at 1111 King’s Road also with a new three-year loan, according to a 22 July announcement.
As a lender
Gaw Capital provided CSI Properties with HKD 500m (USD 64m) debt via a four-year privately-placed bond and backed a HKD 1.49bn (USD 191m) underwritten rights issue alongside CSI’s controlling shareholder Mico Chung Cho Yee, according to a 3 February stock exchange announcement. The exercise will enable CSI Properties to de-leverage as it targets at least HKD 9bn in asset sales, the announcement stated. (Refer to Debtwire’s credit research report for details of CSI Properties’ HK portfolio)
Gaw Capital Partners provided a HKD 300m (USD 38m) private loan to First Group Holdings backed by the developer’s Vita Green Town industrial project in Kowloon’s Lai Chi Kok area, according to a 27 May 2025 Bloomberg report. The facility is part of the total HKD 2.8bn (USD 359m) of loans that are being sought by the company, the report states.
Ho Shung Pun family fire sales
The family of Ho Shung Pun, a director of real estate investment firm Kowloon Investment, placed a five-storey commercial building on 18 Bute Street, Mong Kok, for sale at an asking price of HKD 350m (USD 44.9m), the SCMP reported on 29 May. The move occurred after the sale of eight villas by Ho, his family members or creditors for an aggregate HKD 2.88bn (USD 369.2m) last year, according to media reports.
Ho’s creditors sold four mansions on 46 Plantation Road for HKD 1.1bn (USD 141m) at a discount of 35% to market prices in July 2024 after Ho failed to make payments on a HKD 1.6bn (USD 205m) loan due-January 2025 provided by Gaw Capital, SCMP reported on 11 July 2024. The loan was secured by the properties and carried an interest rate in the teens, the report stated. The selling price of HKD 64,759 (USD 8,302) psf was 50% lower than that at the height of the market, according to Savills, which brokered the transaction.
The creditors to the family sold another of Ho’s mansions on 28 Peak Road to an unnamed buyer for HKD 1.05bn (USD 134.6m) or HKD 112,233 (USD 14,388) psf, Mingtiandi reported on 11 October 2024. In August 2024, Ho and his family sold three mansions on 99, 101, and 103 Peak Road for HKD 828m (USD 106.1m), equivalent to HKD 57,676 (USD 7,394) psf, to Stephan Horst Pudwill, vice chairman of Hong Kong-listed power tools maker Techtronic Industries, SCMP reported on 8 August 2024.
Emperor International seeks debt restructuring
Hong Kong-listed property investment holding company Emperor International Holdings (EIHL) circulated a restructuring proposal to its lenders, seeking to extend the maturity of its offshore loans to 31 July 2027, Debtwire reported on 26 August. Under the proposal, the company offered an upfront repayment of HKD 77m (USD 9.9m) on its HKD 4.37bn (USD 560.3m) term loans maturing in 2026 and unspecified bilateral loans, as well as credit enhancements by way of pledges over 77 unencumbered property projects and backing from Emperor Group Chairman Albert Yeung’s privately held companies, the report stated.
The developer’s 1H25 results state that it breached covenants and had fallen behind loan payments with an outstanding principal of HKD 16.6bn (USD 2.13bn) as of 30 June. Emperor’s offshore bank lenders engaged FTI and Linklaters to assist in talks with the company over its ability to repay its debt, Debtwire reported on 3 March.
Emperor signed an agreement to sell to OCBC Bank China Huarong Tower at 60 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai to repay loans and bolster working capital, the developer announced on 14 November. OCBC provided 11 outstanding loans ranging from HKD 4.6m-HKD 490m (USD 589,743-USD 62.8m) to the company, its directors, legal representatives and ultimate beneficial owners, the announcement states. However, these loans are not secured by the China Huarong Tower, the company stated.
The selling price is 27% lower than what Emperor paid to acquire the property in 2013, according to a 18 November Mingtiandi report.
Emperor International owns a 40% stake of the ultra-luxury 15 Shouson Hill project in Hong Kong’s Southern District, in which a 9,550 sq ft villa was sold for HKD 580m (USD 74.4m) or HKD 60,623 psf, The Standard reported on 28 September. C C Land, Mingfa Group (International) and CSI Properties are the project’s other shareholders. This transaction was 18.5% lower than the HKD 74,400 (USD 9,538) psf fetched by the sale of a different villa in the same project in 2024, as reported on 12 February 2024 by Mingtiandi.
Wang On Properties provides credit enhancements for loans
Hong Kong-listed developer Wang On Properties was forced to offer unspecified credit enhancements on its bank loans because of cash flow concerns, Bloomberg reported on 24 June. The company teamed up with TPG Angelo Gordon to purchase Hotel Ease at 60 Portland Street, Mong Kok for HKD 435m (USD 55m) from the family of Tang Shing-bor, Mingtiandi reported on 3 August.
Tang Shing-bor aka “The Shop King” hawks properties at 40% to 64% discount
Receivers over properties owned by the estate of the deceased patriarch completed two notable sales in 2025.
Receivers appointed by Nanyang Commercial Bank sold Hotel Cozi Harbour View in Kwun Tong, formerly owned by Tang’s estate, for HKD 1.87bn (USD 239.7m) in January, 40% below its HKD 3.1bn (USD 397.4m) offer price in 2022, The Standard reported on 22 January.
In addition, receivers appointed by an unnamed bank sold the family’s erstwhile Kee Shing Commercial Building, 80 Kimberley Road, Tsim Sha Tsui for HKD 118m (USD 15.1m) to a mainland China-backed education institution, 64% below its HKD 330m (USD 42.3m) purchase price in 2018, according to a 7 November Dimsum Daily report.
Tang’s family has placed properties worth HKD 20bn (USD 2.6bn) for sale, according to a 11 December 2020 Bloomberg report. Of these, it sold the first phase of the East Asia Industrial Building in Tuen Muen to China Resources Logistics for HKD 2.24bn (USD 287.2m) in 2021, a commercial building at No 57 Ta Chuen Ping Street in Kwai Chung for HKD 900m (USD 115.4m) in the same year and elderly residential care home Patina Wellness Centre for HKD 1bn (USD 128.2m) in 2022, according to local media reports.
Banks refi Lai Sun Development’s loans with HKMA prompting
Lai Sun Development’s (LSD) 55.6%-signed an agreement on 8 December to refinance a HKD 924m (USD 118.5m) loan due 10 December with a five-year facility of the same principal, Debtwire reported on a 9 December. The loan is secured by Crocodile Center (鳄鱼恤中心) in Kwun Tong and Por Yen Building (百欣大厦) in Cheung Sha Wan, the same buildings that were pledged as collateral for the due-December loan, the report states.
LSD signed a HKD 3.457bn (USD 443m) five-year loan to refinance a HKD 3.6bn (USD 461.5m) dual-tranche loan due 5 October secured by the Cheung Sha Wan Plaza in Kowloon, Debtwire reported on 2 October.
The company, which began negotiations to refinance the Cheung Sha Wan Plaza loan in January, had obtained the consent of only half of the 20 banks to refinance after six months of talks, Bloomberg reported on 18 November. In the weeks up to the loan’s maturity, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) called at least five banks seeking feedback on their concerns about lending to LSD, and communicated its general expectation of lender sympathy towards distressed developers, the report stated.
Separately, LSD announced on 9 December that its wholly-owned subsidiary Transformation International Limited entered into an agreement to sell its entire 50% stake in prime Central district CCB Tower, from which it will raise net proceeds of HKD 2.4bn (USD 307.7m). The sale was to a subsidiary of Nasdaq and Hong Kong-listed Chinese e-commerce company JD.com, Debtwire reported.
Defaulted Chinese developers KWG and Logan looking to refi private credit loan backed by Hong Kong luxury project The Corniche
A Logan and KWG JV which owns The Corniche luxury project in Ap Lei Chau, Southern District, as of 12 September, was in talks to raise USD 800m to refinance an originally USD 1.05bn loan provided by JPMorgan, RRJ Capital, Davidson Kempner and PIMCO, Bloomberg reported.
Since the Corniche project’s launch in January 2023, just 98 out of its 295 units had been sold as of 4 December 2025, the government’s transaction register shows. The project sold only four units in 2023 but sales picked up in 2024 after prices were cut. Prices of some units were reduced to HKD 25,000 psf or 40% below original asking prices, according to a 16 April 2024 Bloomberg report.
The existing facility, signed in August 2024, pays annualised yield of up to 13%, with a 30-month term and two optional six-month extensions, according to a 25 August Bloomberg report.
Parkview Group’s Tai Tam loan troubles
Parkview raised a HKD 300m (USD 38.4m), nine-month private bridge loan from PAG with a yield in the low-to-mid-teens, according to a 16 May 2025 Bloomberg report. The PAG loan is secured by more than 10 residential units in its Hong Kong Parkview development. Loan proceeds were used to refinance a USD 30m loan due in late 2024 that was also provided by PAG, Debtwire reported on 23 May.
Hong Kong Parkview is a residential estate comprising 18 towers and a clubhouse in Hong Kong’s Tai Tam district.
Separately, Parkview was looking for at least HKD 2.8bn (USD 357m) two-to-three year private credit loans backed by two towers and a car park in the Parkview development as well as other undisclosed assets, according to a 3 December 2024 Bloomberg report. Proceeds from the private loan were to be used to refinance a bank loan, the specifics of the Bloomberg report did not provide, including its maturity date. Nanyang Commercial Bank and the company’s other banks in mainland China and Hong Kong are seeking to decrease their exposure to Parkview, per the 16 May 2025 Bloomberg report.
There has not been any news or announcements on whether Parkview ultimately managed to roll, repay or refinance the bank loan or whether the facility has matured.
Parkview’s attempts this year to raise a loan from Sotheby’s backed by over 200 artworks also failed, Bloomberg reported on 25 June.
Tai Hung Fai digs Dignari Capital for under construction office building private loan
Tai Hung Fai obtained a HKD 900m (USD 115m) two-year construction loan from private credit provider Dignari Capital Partners to finish a 30-storey office tower in Hong Kong, Bloomberg reported on 5 August. The loan was obtained for a commercial development located at 92-103A Connaught Road West in Sai Ying Pun district. Besides the Connaught Road West project, Tai Hung Fai’s website shows that it has another commercial project under construction in Sheung Wan district.
Winland Group sales
The Winland Group and its controlling Lun family sold CRE properties for a total of HKD 1.67bn (USD 214.1m) in 2025.
Mexan Ltd, which is chaired by Winland Group Chairman and majority shareholder Edwin Lun, sold the Winland 800 Hotel in Tsing Yi to Hong Kong’s Airport Authority for HKD 765m (USD 98m), Mingtiandi reported on 11 February.
The company sold an under-construction building on the site of the former Sun On Mansion, 20-28 Cannon Street, Causeway Bay, to Mike Cai Wensheng, co-founder of photo editing app Meitu, for HKD 750m (USD 96.1m) or HKD 9,225 (USD 1,182) psf, Mingtiandi reported on 28 July.
Winland Group also sold 34/F, 9 Queens Road Central, to a mainland investor named Zhou Weirong for HKD 225m (USD 28.8m), equivalent to HKD 26,254 (USD 3,366) psf, Mingtiandi reported on 17 June, citing Land Registry records. This was 57.6% lower than the HKD 61,844 (USD 7,928) psf paid for the floor by the company in 2018, the report stated.
The company has appointed CBRE to conduct the sale of two adjoining buildings at 315 and 317-321 Nathan Road, Jordan valued at HKD 818m (USD 104.9m), as well as the entire 13/F, Bank of America Tower, Admiralty, which has an indicative price of HKD 236m (USD 30.3m), according to a 11 August report by The Standard.
Winland Group purchased the entire 23/F of the BoA Tower for HKD 305.4m (USD 39.1m) from a creditor of Qiu Yafu, President of the Shandong Ruyi Technology Group, according to a 3 October 2023 HK Economic Times report, 56% lower than the HKD 700m (USD 89.7m) paid by Qiu and entities related to him to acquire the property in 2018.
Regal Hotels International refi loan backed by second airport hotel
Hong Kong-listed Regal Hotels International (RHI) was, as of 16 June, seeking to refinance a HKD 3.1bn (USD 397.5m) loan due August secured by Hong Kong airport hotel Regala Skycity Hotel, Debtwire reported on 16 June. The new loan sought by the company was smaller than that which it aimed to refinance, thereby forcing it to cover the shortfall, the report stated, without specifying the sources which Regal could use to bridge the gap.
Regala Skycity, the developer’s second hotel in the vicinity of Hong Kong’s international airport and which is connected to Asia World Expo and NWD’s 11 Skies mall, had an occupancy rate of just 59% in 2024, according to the company’s annual report. The older Regal Airport Hotel, which is directly connected to the passenger terminals and is owned by RHI’s 74.9%-owned Regal REIT, fared only slightly better, with an occupancy rate of 61% in 2024 according to the REIT’s 2024 report. In contrast, the average occupancy rate for rooms in the city in 2024 was 85%, according to Hong Kong Tourism Board’s data cited in RHI’s 2024 report.
The company has placed the Regal Kowloon City Hotel for sale for HKD 1.5bn (USD 192m), marketing it as a property suitable for conversion into student accommodation, according to a 8 October HK Economic Times report.
Regal has deferred the distribution payment on its USD 225m perps since 14 April 2025. The securities have been callable since April 2022.
Schroders/Pamfleet’s Woeful Worfu Mall
Several properties either wholly or partly owned by Pamfleet, which was acquired by Schroders Capital in July 2020, have either been sold by receivers or are in the process of being sold, according to media reports.
Lenders to the Worfu Mall in North Point, owned by a Schroders and Chelsfield joint venture, appointed RSM as receivers following a default on a HKD 1.475bn (USD 189m) loan due February secured by the mall, Debtwire reported on 13 August. UOB was the underwriter of the loan, while Bank of Communications’ Hong Kong branch, Bank SinoPac and First Commercial Bank were the mandated lead arrangers, as per Debtwire data.
The mall was marketed for sale at an indicative price of HKD 1.6bn (USD 205m) Mingtiandi reported on 21 January, 20% less than the HKD 2bn (USD 256.4m) at which it was purchased from Li Ka-Shing controlled Fortune REIT in late-2017.
Another Schroders Capital-owned asset up for sale is the Nob Hill, a three-storey mall in Mei Foo acquired by Pamfleet from Fortune REIT for HKD 648m (USD 83.1m) in 2015, Mingtiandi reported on 21 January. Savills announced on 29 July that it was appointed as the sole agent for the sale of the mall, which had an indicative price of HKD 680m.
Receivers appointed by lenders on The Nate, 176 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, sold the serviced apartment building for HKD 272m (USD 34.8m) to Tang Kai-ming, founder of Japanese-style noodles restaurant chain Beppu Group, according to a 24 September Mingtiandi report.
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