China Evergrande gets CK Asset bid for Hong Kong headquarters building

STRUGGLING Chinese developer Evergrande Group is selling its Hong Kong headquarters via a tendering process that ended on Thursday (Jul 28), a source with direct knowledge said, and local developer CK Asset confirmed it has bid for it.

With more than US$300 billion in liabilities, Evergrande has been trying to sell its 26-storey China Evergrande Centre in Hong Kong's Wan Chai district after a potential US$1.7 billion deal collapsed late last year, as part of the asset disposal effort to raise fund.

The sale proceeds of the Hong Kong tower would be used to repay offshore creditors as part of the debt restructuring plan that is expected to be announced this week, sources have said.

Several Hong Kong developers have submitted tenders, the source told Reuters, while there was little participation from Chinese state-owned players.

Evergrande recently appointed real estate services group Cushman & Wakefield as the sole agent to sell the 345,000 square foot office building, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing sources, and the sale was expected to fetch a much lower figure this time, closer to HK$9 billion (S$1.6 billion).

Cushman & Wakefield and Evergrande declined to comment.

CK Asset, founded by billionaire Li Ka-shing, said in an emailed statement on Thursday it has submitted a tender for China Evergrande Centre.

Reuters reported in October, citing sources, that Chinese state-owned Yuexiu Property pulled out of a proposed US$1.7 billion deal to buy China Evergrande Centre over worries about the developer's dire financial situation. REUTERS