THE WHAT? A consortium including JD.com, four Chinese state-owned enterprises and Hong Kong developer Sino Land has won the first government land sale in Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis project for HK$1.03 billion (US$130 million).
THE DETAILS The consortium will invest an estimated HK$16.8 billion to develop the nearly 11-hectare Hung Shui Kiu site, including around 3,000 homes and a logistics centre led by JD.com, while also constructing infrastructure and public facilities that will ultimately be handed back to the government. The tender is the first test of Hong Kong’s new development model, which shifts some infrastructure costs and responsibilities to private developers, but attracted only two bidders amid concerns over high upfront investment, long development periods and uncertain returns.
THE WHY? The deal highlights the growing role of mainland Chinese capital in delivering Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis, while providing an important test of whether the government’s new public-private development model can attract sufficient investment to transform the Shenzhen-border region into a major technology, logistics and residential hub.
Source: Asia Nikkei
