Chinese developers that once expanded aggressively in Hong Kong have retreated from the city amid an unprecedented downturn in the mainland.
From 2018 to 2020, mainland developers’ share of residential areas obtained from government land sales, including joint ventures, were about 57 percent. That figure has dropped to 16 percent from 2021 to 2023, according to government data compiled by Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.
That means an increase in market share for the five major local developers, such as CK Asset Holdings Ltd. and Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. Smaller companies such as Sino Land Co. are also acquiring more projects.
China’s prolonged property slump has caused chaos among developers big and small. This month, officials asked local governments to better support developers’ financing needs, after home prices fell by the most in almost nine years. Country Garden Holdings Co., Logan Group Co. and KWG Group Holdings Ltd. — businesses that once enthusiastically bid for land in Hong Kong — are all struggling to repay debt.
(Bloomberg)