Chinese Tycoon Loses Big on Property Fire Sale

Chen has liquidated his HK property at very cheap prices

Another Chinese tycoon has had a fire sale -- selling nine flats in Hong Kong at over half the price he bought them.

Chen Zhuolin is the chairman of distressed mainland Chinese developer Agile Group, and he recently sold all nine luxury units in Kowloon Tong for HK$90 million -- but they had a market value of HK$213 million. 

The flats in Hamburg Villa on Eastbourne Road were sold at between 53 percent and 63 percent of the original price.

Chen owned some units on Eastbourne Road

One is a three-bedroom unit, 872 sq ft and sold for a bargain basement price of HK$8 million on November 1; he had bought it for HK$21.4 million in 2018, a 63 percent discount.

The 62-year-old Chen is in a tight financial spot; he and his wife Luk Sin-fong, through a family trust, own 58 percent of Agile, but its shares have plunged more than 90 percent in the past five years.

Luk also has a place in Repulse Bay and used it as collateral to get loans. She was hoping to secure HK$500 million...

Agile itself also owns land on Eastbourne Road as well, paying about HK$3.3 billion for two lots in 2017.

But the company failed to pay interest on a US$483 million bond that matures in May 2025.

Other uber wealthy in financial straits: the family of Ho Shung-ping, and the family of the late retail magnate Tang Shing-bor.

On the one hand, it's comeuppance for these wealthy Chinese who snapped up Hong Kong properties at jaw-dropping prices several years ago, and now they are desperately trying to liquidate at fire sale prices. The buyer who snapped up the HK$8 million got a really good deal, though as property prices continue to fall, you don't want to be the last one holding the bag...

Walking All Over Hong Kong

The view of Hong Kong from High West on January 1, 2021

I got into the walking habit when the 2019 protests in Hong Kong led to street clashes between protesters and the police.

While I could get to my gym in Central after work, there was no guarantee I could get back home without encountering these conflicts unless I was prepared to either be holed up in there for a while or attempt to find a way back.

As a result I began walking along the harbourfront from Kennedy Town to Sheung Wan and back. It's a great path that's right by the water and best of all there is no car traffic -- only people walking, running, cycling and walking their dogs.

Looking west from Devil's Peak

It was a nice break from the urban scenery of skyscrapers, and to hear the water was soothing. Even better was when the Covid-19 pandemic struck, shutting down the Turbo Cats going to and from Macau which made the walks even more peaceful.

Later when I told my friend that I went out walking, he immediately asked if he could join too. And then we really went walking all over the place.

A lot of times it was the usual walk all the way to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai, and on the way back to Kennedy Town we'd reward ourselves with a giant cookie each from Cookie Dept's pop up shop at the Upper House hotel along with a glass of lemonade to cool off before heading back to Western district.

Then on Sundays we'd venture out further, several times up the Peak via a steep path near Bowen Road and if we still had energy we'd go all the way up to High West -- the highest point on the Peak. 

My favourite memory of High West is going up there on December 31, 2020, when I brought a half bottle of Champagne with us and Hello Kitty paper cups. Turns out we didn't have to chill the champers because it was chilly walking up to the Peak anyway. 

We rewarded ourselves with Cookie Dept cookies

We even bought head lights to wear for the occasion which came in really handy to be able to see where we were going.

We got to High West about 20 minutes before midnight and a few other people had the same idea as us, to mark the new year by being on top of Hong Kong. Then some Italians came up too and they made video calls with friends back home. When it was midnight we popped open our Champagne bottles and had a toast. 

Another time we walked from Shau Kei Wan and didn't walk around the coastline but cut through the middle of Hong Kong Island to Kennedy Town in about 25km. In between we went up and down hills, and needless to say we were famished and exhausted by the time we were got back to Kennedy Town where my friend gobbled down a steak dinner just before 6pm. 

Kowloon Peak was yet another memorable hike. At one point we walked through tall reeds as the hill went down and then up. Some parts were quite steep and I wondered if I was going to make it alive. But we somehow managed to scramble up to the helicopter pad which was quite cool. 

We went down another way and managed to flag a taxi to take us down to Diamond Hill MTR station. I arrived at my relatives' place for dinner all sweaty, but luckily brought along an extra shirt to change into! That was also quite the workout.

The scenic view while hiking across HK Island

The pandemic really forced me to walk outside and I'm glad I managed to explore a lot of places, like Repulse Bay, Cyberport and Devil's Peak thanks to friends like YTSL.

But it was a great way to talk with friends or if I was on my own, to have time to think, particularly when deliberating if I should leave Hong Kong or not, and what were the steps going forward. 

Now in Vancouver, I am all too happy to walk to many places instead of drive which defeats the purpose of practicing driving more. But it helps me to slow down and think, and puts me at ease.