PCCW Says Mainland Buyers Want Whole CyberPort Blocks

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

28 January 2003

According to Pacific Century Cyberworks (PCCW) Infrastructure chairman Robert Lee Chi-hong, the company is considering offers from two mainland developers who want to buy entire blocks of PCCW's CyberPort development in order to turn them into serviced flats.

Two weeks ago, Mr Lee had said that the company expected good demand for the units, which are set for formal marketing in February: "There is no other large luxury residential development in Island South and lots of affluent people have been looking for such luxury flats in that area," he said. "Cyberport is also attracting investors, as 30 per cent of property owners in Hong Kong buy flats for investment purposes. Cyberport is a good choice considering its quality, accessibility and lack of competition in the same area."

Residence Bel-Air, the phase-one development of Cyberport, consists of 544 units in seven blocks. "Investors are looking for yields and long-term capital appreciation when it comes to luxurious housing," Mr Lee said, adding that the company would not compromise on price to achieve block sales.

Construction of the Cyberport, a joint venture project between the government and PCCW, commenced in May 2000 and it is opening in phases between mid-2002 and the end of 2003. It is serviced by a state-of-the-art telecommunications infrastructure, supported by offices and accommodation of "a world class standard", says the goverment. The environment is campus-like and aims to attract a cluster of companies specialising in areas of information technology, information services and multimedia.

The government said in August that it had leased 80 per cent of about 448,000 square feet of office space in the first phase of the project, but it needs to find more tenants to fill the next 760,000 sq ft. Cyberport's first phase has five tenants - PCCW, Microsoft, General Electric Info Services, Sonera and ESRI - who are paying rentals of between HK$11 and HK$13 per square foot.

When completed by the end of 2003, Cyberport will include 1.1 million sq ft of offices, a 270,000 sq ft commercial centre and a hotel. The residential development will consist of 2,800 luxury flats and will be completed between 2004 and 2007.

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