Tycoon Chen Hongtian blames ‘short-term cash-flow disruption’ for seizure of Hong Kong properties including Peak house

His company, Cheung Kei Group, cites defaults on ‘several big-ticket accounts receivable’ and ‘abnormal obstacles’ for loss of control over assets

Chen Hongtian’s three core properties in Hong Kong are worth about HK$9.8 billion (US$1.25 billion), company says

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No. 15 Gough Hill Road, the house bought by mainland tycoon Chen Hongtian for a record HK$2.1 billion in 2016, pictured on March 30, 2023. Photo: May Tse

Lam Ka-singin Hong KongandHe Huifengin Guangdong

Published: 8:15pm, 31 Mar 2023

Chinese tycoon Chen Hongtian’s company has blamed a “short-term cash-flow disruption” after three of his properties in Hong Kong, including a house on The Peak that he bought for HK$2.1 billion (US$268 million) in 2016, were taken over by creditors.

“I hope that the public will further understand the correct information,” Chen told the Post on Friday, breaking his silence over the seizure of three of his assets in the city.

“Chen Hongtian’s three core properties in Hong Kong are worth about HK$9.8 billion, according to recent appraisal reports commissioned by banks,” Cheung Kei Group said in a statement on Friday, published in the official WeChat account of Shenzhen-based Harmony Club, which is chaired by Chen.

“Although the value of some properties has dropped sharply compared to before the pandemic, it should be slightly higher than the HK$5 billion in loans, and the debt ratio is less than 60 per cent.”

Chen Hongtian, chairman of Cheung Kei Group, poses for a picture in Shenzhen in November 2016. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

The statement came after Chen’s house, a 9,212 sq ft property at 15 Gough Hill Road, was seized this month by receivers appointed by Bank of East Asia (BEA), according to government records.