Tencent executive buys duplex in prestigious Repulse Bay seafront development for US$35 million
- Buyer paid 18 per cent less than the original asking price for the 5,076 sq ft property at 56 Repulse Bay Road
- Hong Kong’s luxury property market has been hit by poor sentiment, with only 118 villas selling in the first quarter, the lowest in the past four years, says Centaline
A Tencent executive has paid HK$270 million (US$34.8 million) for a massive duplex in the prestigious neighbourhood of Repulse Bay.
James Gordon Mitchell, chief strategy officer and vice-president at the Chinese tech giant, bought the 5,076 sq ft property at 56 Repulse Bay Road, overlooking one of Hong Kong’s most scenic beaches, at about 18 per cent less than the owner’s original asking price of HK$328 million, according to agents familiar with the deal. Mitchell and his wife Joy Hu Lan-Ya are the joint owners of the property, according to Land Registry documents.
He paid HK$53,000 per square foot for the duplex, which comes with a 1,544 sq ft rooftop garden. The house has been on the market since 2014.
Deep-pocketed buyers from mainland Chinese tech companies, who have made billions from share sales in the past decade, have been acquiring property in Hong Kong’s wealthy residential enclaves.
Jack Ma, the Chinese billionaire and founder of Alibaba Group Holding, bought a mansion at 22 Barker Road on The Peak for US$191 million in 2015. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
In 2009, Tencent Holding co-founder Pony Ma bought a 8,000 sq ft house – which can be seen from the Dragon’s Back hiking trail above Shek O – from Wah Kwong Shipping’s former chairman George Chao for HK$480 million.