Sichuan tycoon dumps Hong Kong Mid-Levels luxury flat for US$8.4 million, a 35% discount

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The seller of the flat is An Zhifu, president of Sichuan-based Fulin Group

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The Alassio development on Caine Road in Mid-Levels. Photo: Google Maps

Salina Li

Published: 6:33pm, 12 Nov 2024Updated: 10:38pm, 12 Nov 2024

A tycoon from Sichuan province sold a luxury flat in Hong Kong’s Mid-Levels at a 35 per cent discount, as buyers hunt for bargains amid falling interest rates and eased restrictions on borrowing.

A 1,674 sq ft duplex in the Alassio luxury project – developed by Swire Properties – at 100 Caine Road changed hands for HK$65 million (US$8.35 million), 35 per cent lower than its last sale price of HK$101 million in 2016, according to an agent from Centaline Property who is familiar with the deal.

The seller is An Zhifu, president of Sichuan-based Fulin Group, a private business with interests in real estate, car manufacturing, healthcare and transportation that has total assets of 20 billion yuan (US$2.8 billion), according to its website. The company is a shareholder in Fulin Precision, a Shenzhen-listed company that makes and sells car parts.

The flat was sold on November 6, the agent said, after going on the market last year with an asking price of HK$110 million. But the transaction has yet to show up on the Land Registry and details on the buyer are not available.

“We’ve seen mainland homeowners who bought luxury houses in Hong Kong when the market was hot trying to sell over the past two years due to various reasons,” said Tyrone Tse, an agent in Centaline’s Mid-Levels West branch. “At the same time, recent big lump sum transactions worth HK$50 million or more were mostly from mainland buyers, too.”

Sentiment in Hong Kong’s residential property market has become sunnier since the US Federal Reserve kicked off a cycle of interest-rate reductions in September. Last week, following another Fed cut, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority reduced its base rate by a quarter point to 5 per cent. Subsequently, six major Hong Kong lenders reduced their prime lending rates for the second time this year, which trimmed borrowing costs to their lowest level in two years.