Li Ka-shing Sells Beijing Properties at a 30 Discount, Drawing Market Attention

Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong's wealthiest individual. (Photo by Song Bilong / Dajiyuan)

[Dajiyuan] Following the announcement of the sale of his Panama Canal port assets, which sparked intense criticism from Chinese Communist Party media, billionaire Li Ka-shing's company, Cheung Kong Holdings, has recently implemented a significant price reduction for its residential project, Yucuiyuan, in Beijing. Some properties are now being offered at a 30% discount, which has garnered considerable attention in the market.

The Yucuiyuan project, situated in the Dongsi Huan area of Chaoyang District, Beijing, has seen the average price of its newly released high-rise units drop to 70,000 yuan (RMB, the same below) per square meter, with total prices starting at a minimum of 9.8 million yuan, reflecting a decrease of nearly one million compared to the opening price in 2023.

Villa offerings have also experienced notable price cuts, with the smallest unit type of 345 square meters seeing total prices reduced from 32 million to 33 million yuan, down to a starting price of 29 million yuan, translating to a unit price of approximately 85,000 to 86,000 yuan per square meter.

To address the concerns of previous homeowners who purchased at higher prices, the developer has introduced two compensation options: one involves providing renovations at a fixed price, while the other offers cash subsidies ranging from 800,000 to 1 million yuan per household.

The Yucui Garden project traces its origins back to 2001, when Li Ka-shing's Hutchison Whampoa acquired the Yaojiayuan land parcel for 700 million yuan, translating to a floor price of just 1,750 yuan per square meter. The first phase, Yicui Garden, launched in 2005 with an average price of 9,000 yuan per square meter, while the second phase, Yucui Shangfu, saw prices soar to 29,000 yuan per square meter by 2011. The project was officially named 'Yucui Garden' in 2019, with plans to launch in 2022 at a price range of 100,000 to 110,000 yuan per square meter. However, the actual filing price for 2023 was set between 90,700 and 99,700 yuan per square meter. Currently, the average price stands at 70,000 yuan per square meter, which is still 40 times the original land acquisition cost.

This is not the first time Yucui Garden has seen a price reduction. At the end of October 2024, the project previously offered 50 units at a special price with a 24% discount, averaging 76,000 yuan per square meter, which is lower than the prices of nearby second-hand homes.

Li Ka-shing has previously sold new properties at discounted rates in locations such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Dongguan. The 30% discount sale of Yucui Garden in Beijing has aligned its discount levels with those in other cities, indicating a further adjustment in its strategy for the mainland real estate market.

Li Ka-shing's recent moves in real estate and overseas assets reflect his strategy to accelerate asset monetisation and capital recovery amid the current economic climate.

Before this, Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong Holdings announced an agreement with a consortium led by the American BlackRock Group to sell its overseas port assets for 22.8 billion dollars. This deal has raised concerns among senior officials of the Communist Party of China due to its implications for U.S.-China geopolitical interests, prompting a directive for relevant departments to conduct a review. However, since the ports involved are located outside of mainland China and Hong Kong, it is believed that the Chinese authorities will find it challenging to block this transaction.

Editor in charge: Sun Yun