China liaison office increases its Hong Kong property portfolio to more than 280 flats after its latest purchase
- Central government’s liaison office, which is exempt from stamp duties, has acquired a real estate portfolio that includes more than 280 residential properties
- Calls for office to be more transparent about businesses it is engaged in and what other subsidiary companies it controls
The Chinese government’s liaison office in Hong Kong, which is exempted from stamp duties, has increased its property portfolio in the city to more than 280 flats, following its latest acquisition of 20 apartment units in Kwun Tong.
The office, using an investment vehicle called Newman Investment, had paid HK$247.53 million (US$31.54 million) for 20 flats at the Grand Central complex, a venture between Sino Land and the Urban Renewal Authority, according to the Land Registry’s data.
All five Newman directors - Chen Dunzhou, Chen Zhibin, Li Wenze, Liang Xiong and Sun Zhongxin - are officials from the Administration and Finance Department of the Chinese government’s liaison office in Hong Kong.
Nineteen of the flats are two-bedroom layouts from 522 to 607 sq ft. Newman has paid a 5 per cent deposit on the flats.
According to the Stamp Duty Ordinance, the central government, or any “incorporated public officer or any person acting in his capacity as a public officer shall not be liable for the payment of stamp duty”.
The rule means Newman is exempt from stamp duty of 30 per cent – a 15 per cent buyers’ tax charged on homes purchased by companies and another 15 per cent levy on the purchase of second homes – which adds up to savings of as much as HK$74.3 million on the purchases, according to Kenneth Leung, the lawmaker in accountancy.