Property developer Agile chairman sells Hong Kong flat at 54% loss

Buildings and trees near the ocean in Hong Kong. Illustration photo by Pexels

According to the South China Morning Post, the flat is located in Hamburg Villa in the Kowloon Tong district of Hong Kong. It was purchased by Joint Smart Development—a company directed by Chen—in 2018 for HK$31 million.

According to Ronald Yue, a property agent at real estate agency Centaline, the apartment covers 1,239 square feet (115 square meters), and its selling price of approximately HK$11,500 per square foot is about 15% below the current market rate.

Yue also noted that the sale might indicate a halt in Chen’s and Agile’s plans to acquire additional units in Hamburg Villa. Previously, Agile had purchased one-third of the building’s 33 units and had expressed interest in owning the entire building.

This transaction follows Agile’s failure to pay interest on a US$483 million bond that matures in 2025, for which the grace period ended in May.

Additionally, the company had been actively seeking financing, including securing a two-year loan for HK$894 million in 2022 at a 20% annual interest rate, to mitigate a debt that had reached 59.49 billion yuan (US$8.3 billion).

By the end of Dec. 2023, Agile’s financial reports indicated a reduction in its total borrowings to 53.55 billion yuan, though the company still recorded a substantial annual loss of 13.8 billion yuan.

Chen’s sale highlights a growing trend of properties in Hong Kong being listed for sale at significant losses. Last month, Sohu reported that businessman Julian Hui—husband of Miss Hong Kong 1988 Michelle Reis and son of the late real estate magnate Sai Fun Hui—listed a penthouse for HK$22.07 million. This price reflects a 73% decrease from its original 2018 purchase price of HK$82.07 million.