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Hong Kong property
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Hong Kong developer Kerry ‘confident in China’s prospects’ as it starts work on landmark Shanghai project

  • Kerry Properties’ mega project is coming up on two land parcels the developer acquired for a combined US$3 billion
  • The mixed-use project, with a total gross floor area of 663,000 sq m, will have homes, offices, shops and hotels

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Officials from Shanghai government and Kerry Properties at a ground breaking ceremony for the company’s mixed-use project on Wednesday. Photo: Handout
Daniel Renin Shanghai
Kerry Properties has broken ground on a massive mixed-use project in Shanghai, just two months after it won a tender for a prime site in the city centre, and it comes amid a property crisis that has engulfed dozens of mainland Chinese developers.

The Hong Kong developer said the project, comprising residential units, offices, shops and hotels, is its largest investment in China.

Located in the central Huangpu district, close to landmarks including The Bund, Yu Garden, East Nanjing Road pedestrian street and the People’s Square, the project will have a total gross floor area of 663,000 square metres.

Known as Kerry Jinling Lu Project, the complex is coming up on two land parcels Kerry acquired for a combined 22.1 billion yuan (US$3 billion). In January 2022, Kerry secured a site just a few blocks east of the People’s Square for 13.3 billion yuan before it won a bid for the new parcel for 8.78 billion yuan this June.

Kerry Properties CEO Kuok Khoon Hua speaks during a ground breaking ceremony for the company’s mixed-use project in Shanghai on Wednesday. Photo: Handout
Kerry Properties CEO Kuok Khoon Hua speaks during a ground breaking ceremony for the company’s mixed-use project in Shanghai on Wednesday. Photo: Handout

“We have great confidence in the future growth of the Chinese mainland market,” chairman and CEO Kuok Khoon Hua said in a statement on Wednesday. “We are fully committed to improving urban areas through our projects in the Chinese mainland.”

Beijing’s austerity measures to reduce developers’ leverage ratios since 2020 have resulted in a wave of bond and loan defaults involving companies such as China Evergrande Group and Kaisa Group Holdings. China’s ailing real estate sector, along with related industries such as home appliances and construction materials, accounts for about a quarter of the country’s economy.
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