Tang Shing-Bor Family Sells Two More Discounted Kowloon Assets

The family of Hong Kong’s late “Shop King” Tang Shing-bor has sold a serviced apartment building in Kowloon for HK$88 million ($11.22 million), according to market sources, as the group continues to liquidate assets at steep discounts in the face of a dampened hospitality market,

The 37-unit former boutique hotel at 129-131 Temple Street in Jordan changed hands at a price HK$20 million less than the HK$108 million that the Tang family paid to purchase the asset in 2016, sources who were not involved in the deal told Mingtiandi, confirming a deal first reported by local news site HK01.

On the weekend a report in local daily Mingpao indicated another marked-down sale by the Tang family, with the clan said to have sold a set of shops next to the Mong Kok MTR station for nearly 8 percent less than they had paid to acquired the retail properties in 2017.

The pair of deals add to a string of stressed disposals by the Tang family, which unloaded at least 21 assets last year based on Mingtiandi’s tally.

Poor Market Sentiment Persists

The Tang family is disposing of the property formerly known as the A3 Hotel at a price equivalent to HK$2.38 million per key, which represents a substantial discount to other recent hotel transactions in the Jordan / Yau Ma Tei area.

“The low price of this deal is (partly) due to the small scale of the premises on a small site, which would lead to higher operation cost per room,” Alex Leung, senior director at CHFT Advisory, told Mingtiandi when asked to comment on the latest transaction.

The buyer of the hotel has not been identified, however, a Mingpao account pointed to “a long-term investor” citing a source at agency Midland Realty, which is said to have brokered the deal. Mingtiandi reached out to Midland but representatives declined to comment on the transaction.

While Hong Kong reopened its borders to visitors in December, the city’s hospitality industry continues to suffer from reduced visitor numbers, with arrivals in January of this year down 92.6 percent from 2019 levels, according to figures from the city’s Tourism Board. This weak demand in the city’s lodging sector may have contributed to the discounted sale price for the Temple Street property, Leung said.

The hospitality asset spans 10,471 square feet (973 square metres) in gross floor area on a 1,182 square foot plot within the popular Temple Street Night Market. Public records show that the property produces rental income of HK$230,000 per month.

The apartment block is within 10 minutes’ walk of both the Jordan and Yau Ma Tei MTR stations, and around 20 minutes’ drive from Central district.

Estate Sale Continues

Despite signs of increased foot traffic on the streets of Hong Kong, the Tang family’s sale in Mong Kok, one of Kowloon’s busiest shopping areas, shows that full recovery may still take some time.

The group sold shop units in the ground through fourth floors of 16 Argyle Street in Mong Kok measuring 17,600 square feet of floor area for HK$350 million, the Ming Pao account said, citing market sources.

At the report consideration, that sale of the properties around 1.5 kilometres (0.93 miles) north of the Temple Street building took place at around HK$19,900 per square foot, with the family having purchased the units for HK$380 million around five years ago.

The pair of sales mark the latest disposals by the Tang family since the death of their billionaire patriarch in May 2021.

Last August, entities owned by Tang Shing-bor’s youngest son and successor at the helm of the family business, Stan Tang, sold a 56.15 percent interest in Pine Care Group to local developer Chinachem for HK$451.2 million, leaving the clan together with other insiders 18.9 percent ownership in the HKEX-listed senior care provider.

During that same month, the Tang family agreed to sell 90 percent of the space in the Wing Shing Industrial Building in the New Territories to fund manager Kailong Group, which plans to redevelop the aging asset into an industrial facility measuring up to 209,000 square feet.

That deal came a month after Stan Group reportedly struck an agreement to sell more than 70 percent of the floor area in the Chuen Kei Factory Building in Kwai Chung to Australian developer Goodman for a reported HK$520 million.