First successful residential land tender in 7 months

The Lands Department on Wednesday announced the first successful tender of residential land in seven months. Sun Hung Kai Properties beat 10 other bidders and won the tender for a site in Siu Lek Yuen, Sha Tin, for HK$619 million. The figure was in line with market expectations. The site is expected to generate around 280 units. It was the only residential plot on offer in the April-June quarter under the government land sale programme. Deputy managing director of Sun Hung Kai Properties, Victor Lui, said the company will build small and medium-sized units there, with a total investment of around HK$2 billion. Kathy Lee, head of research at Colliers, said the government's first successful sale of residential land after scrapping property-cooling measures in February sent a positive message to the market, amid concerns that developers were reluctant to bid for land.