Swire Properties to reportedly sell Cityplaza Three and Four for $14b

The buyer is Hengli Investment Holding Group.

Bloomberg reports that Swire Properties is reportedly in talks to sell its stakes in Cityplaza Three and Cityplaza Four to Hengli Investments Holding Group for more than $14b.

The two towers being sold house a mix of retail and offices in Taikoo Shing on Hong Kong Island. The sale suggests Swire Properties may consider Hong Kong property prices to be “toppish,” CLSA Ltd. analyst Nicole Wong wrote in a report.

Heated bids and record-breaking purchases by Mainland and domestic investors have buoyed the city’s commercial real estate in recent months with Henderson Land Development agreeing to shell out $23.3b for the first commercial land to be sold by the government in Central since 1996.

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In fact, Hong Kong easily blew APAC real estate markets like Singapore and South Korea out of the running as a series of blockbuster deals across all five property sectors buoyed commercial investment volumes to balloon 83% YoY to $191.5b (US$24.5b) in Q1, according to Real Capital Analytics (RCA).

The number of deals closed in Hong Kong in the past twelve months also surged 40% to 402 with notable transactions including Link REIT’s sale of 17 shopping malls to Gaw Capital for US$2.9b which buoyed activity in the recovering retail sector. China Create Capital also teamed up with China Taiping Insurance to snap 18 King Wah Road office tower for approximately US$1.3b.

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