NYC condo listed at US$45m housed exiled Chinese tycoon

[NEW YORK] The 15-room Manhattan condo where exiled Chinese tycoon Guo Wengui has lived for years is on sale for US$45 million, about US$23 million less than it was purchased for in 2015.

The entity that owns the apartment, Genever Holdings, filed for Chapter 11 protection in 2020. Former bankruptcy judge Melanie Cyganowski was installed to handle the sale process for the apartment, which appeared on Wednesday (Feb 16) on the Serena Boardman website. Documents in the Chapter 11 proceedings said Guo, also known as Miles Kwok, resided at the property, which comprises the entire 18th floor of the building at 781 Fifth Avenue and has views of New York's Central Park.

Genever Holdings bought the unit in 2015 for US$67.5 million, according to New York property records. The listing describes the condo as "perched high atop the prestigious Sherry Netherland Hotel" and suited for "grand entertaining and a big lifestyle".

Guo was held in contempt last week and ordered to pay US$134 million to a creditor after a judge found that the businessman moved a yacht out of US waters to shield it from debt collection.

The potential loss is yet another example of the turnaround in fortunes for Chinese investors who once fuelled New York's luxury real estate market. Ultra-wealthy tycoon Whitney Duan was involved in the purchase of a condo in a skinny skyscraper on Park Avenue that is now facing foreclosure, while city records show an entity linked to HNA Group sold properties at a loss in Extell's One57 building. BLOOMBERG