New | Hong Kong land prices baffle billionaire developer

After more than 50 years as a Hong Kong developer, octogenarian billionaire Lui Che-Woo says he’s having trouble reading the city’s property market these days.

“I can’t see clearly what’s happening in Hong Kong’s property market,” 87-year-old Lui said in an interview, after failing to win any land bid this year.

“Recently land prices have surged so much. I really don’t know what’s happening right now. I need time to think quietly for a while before figuring out the situation we are in.”

K Wah International Holdings, Lui’s listed property arm, has submitted 16 tender bids in land auctions so far in 2016, while failing to win any. Large Hong Kong developers have been reluctant to make high bids on land after home prices fell and sales slowed earlier this year, opening the way for smaller local companies and mainland Chinese firms.

“It’s a shame that we have also tried hard to bid for land in Hong Kong, but failed,” Lui said. “It’s been a headache.”

The uncertainty in the property market, despite a recent rally, has made developers cautious while bidding for land. K Wah International has been outbid at this year’s land auctions by developers from mainland China and unlisted Hong Kong firms, including a company controlled by Angela Leong, an executive director of SJM Holdings Ltd., which competes with Lui’s Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. in Macau’s casino market.