Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited (SHKP; ) is a listed corporation and the largest
property developer in Hong Kong Since the British colonialisation in 1841 after the First Opium War, Hong Kong has grown from a stony outcrop on the southern coast of China to a territory whose property prices are among the highest in the world. The territory has a land mass of . ...
as of 2019. The company is controlled by the Kwok family trust, largely the
Kwok brothers
Walter Kwok Ping-sheung JP (; Cantonese pronunciation: ; 1950 – 20 October 2018) was a Hong Kong real estate developer. He was the eldest son of Kwok Tak-seng, founder of Sun Hung Kai Properties, and his wife Kwong Siu-hing. Following t ...
. The Kwok family trust was set up by
Kwok Tak-seng, who co-founded the company.
History
Early years
The group was one of many non-British owned companies that overtook the British trading companies or '
hong Hong may refer to:
Places
*Høng, a town in Denmark
*Hong Kong, a city and a special administrative region in China
*Hong, Nigeria
*Hong River in China and Vietnam
*Lake Hong in China
Surnames
*Hong (Chinese name)
*Hong (Korean name)
Organiz ...
s' that dominated the financial order in Hong Kong prior to 1997. The predecessor of the group, Sun Hung Kai Enterprises Co., Ltd. (), was founded in 1963 by
Kwok Tak-seng, together with
Fung King-hey and
Lee Shau Kee
Lee Shau-kee GBM (; born 7 March 1928 in Shunde, Guangdong, China) is a Hong Kong business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is a real estate tycoon and majority owner of Henderson Land Development, a property conglomerate with inte ...
.
The current legal person of the holding company of the group, Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited, was incorporated on 14 July 1972 and was listed on the
Hong Kong stock exchange
The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK, also known as Hong Kong Stock Exchange) is a stock exchange based in Hong Kong. As of the end of 2020, it has 2,538 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of HK$47 trillion. It is repor ...
s on 23 August 1972.
[
In 1973, SHKP acquired Hong Yip Service Company Limited.] In 1977, SHKP moved its head office to Connaught Centre, Central (now known as Jardine House
Jardine House (), formerly known as Connaught Centre (), is an office tower in Hong Kong. The building is located at 1 Connaught Place, Central on Hong Kong Island. It is owned by Hongkong Land Limited, a subsidiary of Jardines. At the time ...
).
In 1978, SHKP established Kai Shing Management Services Limited (啟勝管理服務), a property manager
A property manager or estate manager is a person or firm charged with operating a real estate property for a fee when the owner is unable to attend to such details personally or is not interested in doing so. The property may be individual title o ...
.
In 1978, SHKP put on sale the first multi-block residential estate, Tsuen Wan Centre
Tsuen Wan Centre () is one of the largest private housing estates in Tsuen Wan, New Territories, Hong Kong, located at Tsuen King Circuit. It consists of 19 high-rise buildings, with their names of a number of Chinese cities, and a shopping arca ...
(First Phase). Also in 1978, SHKP became one of the 33 constituent stocks listed on the Hang Seng Index.
In 1979, SHKP established Sun Hung Kai Properties Insurance Limited, which was a provider of general insurance
General insurance or non-life insurance policy, including automobile and homeowners policies, provide payments depending on the loss from a particular financial event. General insurance is typically defined as any insurance that is not determine ...
.
1980s and 1990s
In 1981, SHKP acquired an interest in Kowloon Motor Bus
The Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited (KMB) is a bus company operating franchised services in Hong Kong. It is the largest bus company in Hong Kong by fleet size and number of bus routes. It is a subsidiary of Transport International.
...
, a public transport provider. The corporation moved its headquarters to Sun Hung Kai Centre, on an area of newly reclaimed land in Wan Chai
Wan Chai is situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road, Hong Kong, Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to th ...
, in 1982.
In 1991, SHKP acquired Wilson Parking
Wilson Parking () is a Hong Kong-based car parking management company. It first opened for business in Perth, Western Australia in 1962, currently operates in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea and Mainland China. In Hong Kong, it ...
.
In 1992, SHKP finished the construction of Central Plaza in Wan Chai, the tallest building in Asia at the time of completion. In the same year the company diversified into mobile telephony with the establishment of SmarTone
SmarTone Telecommunications Holdings Limited, trading as SmarTone (), is a telecommunications company headquartered in Hong Kong. The company is a subsidiary of conglomerate Sun Hung Kai Properties.
The company provides voice, multimedia, plai ...
, now one of Hong Kong's dominant mobile providers. This subsidiary was listed in Hong Kong in 1996.
In 1993, SHKP acquired World Trade Centre, Causeway Bay. From the mid-1990s the company undertook property development related to the new airport railway, including sites at the Airport Express
The AirPort Express is a Wi-Fi base station product from Apple Inc., part of the AirPort product line. While more compact and in some ways simpler than another Apple Wi-Fi base station, the AirPort Extreme, the Express offers audio output cap ...
Hong Kong Station.
In 1998, Route 3 (Country Park Section) opened.
In 1999, Shanghai Central Plaza commercial building was completed.
21st century
In 2000, SHKP won tender for Kowloon Station Development Packages 5, 6 & 7 – now the International Commerce Centre
The International Commerce Centre (abbreviated ICC) is a 118- storey, commercial skyscraper completed in 2010 in West Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is a part of the Union Square project on top of Kowloon station. It was the 4th tallest building in ...
(ICC) complex.[ The complex was finished in 2010. The main building became the tallest building in Hong Kong at the time of completion.
On 17 March 2000, ]SUNeVision
SUNeVision (SEHK: 1686), the technology arm of Sun Hung Kai Properties (SEHK: 0016), is the largest data centre provider in Hong Kong. The company provides carrier and cloud-neutral data centre services.
History
The company was established an ...
Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of SHKP, was listed on the Growth Enterprise Market of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.
In 2001, SHKP established the residential leasing division Signature Homes.
In 2002, SHKP set up SHKP – Kwok's Foundation to provide financial support to financially disadvantaged but academically outstanding students, enabling them to pursue university education or to participate in overseas exchange programs.
In 2003, the first phases of YOHO Town in Yuen Long went on sale. The same year, the company signed a land-use transfer agreement with Shanghai Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone Development Company for Shanghai IFC project.
In 2005, SHKP opened APM, Hong Kong's first late-night retail centre.
In 2005, SHKP acquired Seiyu (Sha Tin) Company Limited.
In 2009, Ma Wan Park Noah's Ark opened, the first Christian theme park in Hong Kong.
In 2013, SHKP acquired a commercial site with 7.6 million square feet of gross floor area in the Shanghai Xujiahui district.
In 2015, SHKP became Title and Charity Sponsor of the first Hong Kong Cyclothon.
In 2016, SHKP donated land in Yuen Long to Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui for the construction of an integrated service centre.
In 2019, SHKP won the tender for the commercial site atop the West Kowloon high-speed rail terminus. SHKP's bid of more than HK$42 billion won the 60,000 square metre site, which could be used for office, shopping and hotel developments. The Kwoks family invested HK$9.4 billion (US$1.2 billion) for a 25% stake in the office towers.
Corruption probe
SHK Executive Director Thomas Chan was arrested by the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on 19 March along with eight people linked to the company on the afternoon of 29 March 2012. Co-chairmen Thomas and Raymond Kwok and five others were arrested by the ICAC as part of an extensive corruption probe. Rafael Hui
Rafael Hui Si-yan (born 8 February 1948) is a former Chief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong and career civil servant. Hui has been dubbed "Old Master Hui" () and "Fat Dragon" (). Hui was appointed as a Justice of the Peace on 1986 an ...
, former chief secretary, was also taken in for questioning. They were later released on bail. The probe caused a 15 per cent fall in the company's share price.
In December 2014, the jury convicted Thomas Kwok and Rafael Hui of the bribery, and Hui was convicted of four more charges relating to misconduct in public office. The jury acquitted Raymond Kwok of all changes.
Governance
Its head office is in the Sun Hung Kai Centre in Wan Chai
Wan Chai is situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road, Hong Kong, Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to th ...
.
List of chairmen
# Kwok Tak-seng (1972–1990); founder
# Walter Kwok (1990–2008); oldest son of Kwok Tak-seng
# Kwong Siu-hing
Kwong Siu-hing, or sometimes Kwok Kwong Siu-hing (; born 2 December 1929), is the matriarch of the Kwok family. She controls the conglomerate Sun Hung Kai Properties, the largest property developer in Hong Kong as of 2019. As of 2008, Kwong effe ...
(2008–2011); wife of Kwok Tak-seng
# Raymond Kwok and Thomas Kwok (2011–2014); joint chairmen, younger sons of Kwok Tak-seng
# Raymond Kwok (2014– ); youngest son of Kwok Tak-seng
Business development
Projects
In 1996, SHKP was the lead developer which had bid the sum of HK$5.5 billion to acquire the rights to develop Hong Kong's second-tallest building, the International Finance Centre. The MTR Corporation
MTR Corporation Limited is a majority government-owned public transport operator and property developer in Hong Kong which operates the Mass Transit Railway, the most popular public transport network in Hong Kong. It is listed on the Hon ...
was a partner in the venture. Sun Hung Kai Properties, owns 47.5 per cent of the development, Henderson Land Development
Henderson Land Development Co. Ltd. () is a listed property developer in Hong Kong and a constituent of the Hang Seng Index. The company's principal activities are property development and investment, project management, construction, hotel op ...
, whose chairman Lee Shau Kee
Lee Shau-kee GBM (; born 7 March 1928 in Shunde, Guangdong, China) is a Hong Kong business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is a real estate tycoon and majority owner of Henderson Land Development, a property conglomerate with inte ...
sits on the SHKP board, took a 32.5 per cent stake in the project. SHKP also built the International Commerce Centre
The International Commerce Centre (abbreviated ICC) is a 118- storey, commercial skyscraper completed in 2010 in West Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is a part of the Union Square project on top of Kowloon station. It was the 4th tallest building in ...
, the tallest building in Hong Kong.
Internal sale opacity
In 2005, the developer was criticised for the lack of transparency in its public sale of residential properties to speculators and end-users. The company was accused of the practice of "''internal sales''" of uncompleted units, the absence of sale price-lists, and also for hyping sales for flats in its ''The Arch'' development in West Kowloon
West Kowloon () is the western part of Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong, situated within the Yau Tsim Mong District and Sham Shui Po District. It is bounded by Canton Road to the east, Victoria Harbour to the west and the south, and Jorda ...
by announcing inflated prices (per square metre) achieved. A buyer apparently paid HK$168 million, or HK$31,300 per square foot, for a penthouse. Sweeteners were allegedly given (discounts given to the same purchaser on other units bought), but were excluded from the calculation. This allowed SHK to raise prices of the next batch of 500 units by 5–10 percent. But SHKP has denied the allegations.
Sibling fallout
On 18 February 2008, SHKP announced that Walter Kwok, chairman and Chief Executive, would take a "temporary leave of absence for personal reasons with immediate effect". Walter Kwok announced that he would take a "personal holiday", handing over his duties to his two younger brothers.
The suddenness of his departure caused a huge stir in Hong Kong. '' The Standard'' reported that the elder Kwok was removed from his position by his mother, who is the controlling shareholder of the company, to protect the family interests. The journal revealed that Walter's mistress of 4 years has been wielding increasing power in the business, and causing friction with his brothers.[Staff reporter]
"Lover feud splits Kwok brothers"
, ''The Standard'', 19 February 2008
SHKP's announcement left the financial markets hungry for more disclosure, causing its stock price to decline against the general market the following day. Corporate communications issued a second statement insisting that the business would not be affected and that Walter would resume his functions after his leave of 2 to 3 months. Walter's mistress, named by the press as Ida Tong Kam-Hing (唐錦馨), had apparently introduced property transactions valued at HK$
The Hong Kong dollar (, sign: HK$; code: HKD) is the official currency of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. It is subdivided into 100 cents or 1000 mils. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is the monetary authority of Hong Kong and ...
4 billion to the Group or to the Kwoks' private investment vehicles. Company spokesmen stated that no person named Ida Tong was employed by the Group.
On 29 February, tycoon and fellow board member Lee Shau Kee
Lee Shau-kee GBM (; born 7 March 1928 in Shunde, Guangdong, China) is a Hong Kong business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is a real estate tycoon and majority owner of Henderson Land Development, a property conglomerate with inte ...
confirmed that Mrs Kwok forced the leave of absence upon Walter over Ida Tong during the last board meeting.
On 16 May 2008, Walter filed a writ with the High Court which claimed that Walter reached an agreement with his mother and two brothers in February that he would return to his duties if certain conditions were met. Walter alleged that his two brothers violated the agreement by attempting to remove him despite having fulfilled the pre-defined criteria, including procuring at least two medical opinions showing he is fit to return. Walter secured a last-minute injunction to delay the vote, to allow more time for discussions.[Benjamin Scent, Katherine Ng & Stephanie Tong]
"Sensational accusations fly as SHKP chairman takes his fight to court"
, ''The Standard'', 16 May 2008 On the sidelines of the dispute to remove Walter as chairman and CEO, Walter and his brothers claim the other(s) made major management decisions unwisely and without consultation.[Benjamin Scent,]
"Fallout over Chan appointment"
, ''The Standard'', 16 May 2008[Katherine Ng,]
"ICC rents caught in Kwok feud"
, ''The Standard'', 21 May 2008
Financing and assets
SHKP was publicly listed in 1972 and is one of the largest property companies in Hong Kong. It develops residential and commercial projects for sale and investment. It employs more than 38,000 people and its services include land acquisition, architecture, construction, engineering and property management. It achieved a revenue of HK$85,302 million in the financial year 2018/19, with a profit attributable to shareholders of HK$44,912 million. The majority of its revenues and operating profit were derived from property sales and rental.
Land bank
As of 30 June 2019, the Group had a land bank in Hong Kong of 58.0 million square feet in terms of attributable gross floor area, consisting of 32.9 million square feet of completed investment properties and 25.1 million square feet of properties under development.
As of 30 June 2019, the Group held a land bank of 65.4 million square feet in terms of attributable gross floor area on the mainland, including 50.6 million square feet of properties under development and 14.8 million square feet of completed properties.
Credit ratings
The Group has always attained the highest credit ratings among Hong Kong developers. Moody's gave the Group an A1 rating and Standard & Poor's gave the Group an A+ rating.
Real estate development projects
Hong Kong (residential)
Hong Kong (commercial)
ICC
The International Commerce Centre
The International Commerce Centre (abbreviated ICC) is a 118- storey, commercial skyscraper completed in 2010 in West Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is a part of the Union Square project on top of Kowloon station. It was the 4th tallest building in ...
(ICC) in West Kowloon is the tallest building in Hong Kong, standing at 490m with 118 storeys. The development was also chosen as one of the world's top 125 most important works of architecture by Architectural Record in commemoration of the magazine's 125th anniversary.
The tower opened in 2011. While most of the building is leased out as office spaces – ICC provides 2.5 million square feet of office space – the building also houses the Sky100 Hong Kong Observation Deck on the 100th floor as well as restaurants on the 101st floor, with the former providing a 360-degree view over the Victoria Harbour at 393 metres above the sea level. The Ritz-Carlton hotel occupies the building's 102nd to 118th floor. The world's highest swimming pool is located on the top floor as part of the hotel.
The building also has LED lights on its facades for a light show, which has set a Guinness World Record for the "largest light and sound show on a single building". The show occurs twice a night, and can be viewed along both sides of the Victoria Harbour.
The SHKP Vertical Run for Charity has been an annual event hosted by SHKP at ICC since 2012.
IFC
The International Finance Centre is an integrated commercial development, which includes the currently second tallest building in Hong Kong, only next to ICC. Situated above the Hong Kong MTR station, the project was developed and owned by IFC Development, a consortium with SHKP as one of the members. The IFC project was completed in September 2006, providing a gross floor area of over 4 million square feet in total. It consists of two office towers – One IFC and Two IFC – the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, and the IFC mall. Notable occupants of the development include the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which purchased 14 floors in Two IFC in 2001.
The ifc mall in the IFC development has 4 floors of luxury retail shops and restaurants. It is also where Hong Kong's first Apple retail store is located.
Millennium City
Millennium City is a multi-tower development project built along the Kwun Tong Road. By 2016, Phases 1–3, 5 and 6 have been completed.
Millennium City 1, the first to be completed and the largest of the Millennium City cluster, comprises a twin pair of 30-storey towers. The two towers combined provide a total of 1,230,000 square feet of commercial space.
New Town Plaza
New Town Plaza is an SHKP development located in Sha Tin, Hong Kong. The development project was completed in three phases (Phase 1: 9-storey shopping mall; Phase 2: Royal Park Hotel; Phase 3: private housing and a 3-storey shopping mall). New Town Plaza was the largest development of its kind in New Territories at its time of completion in the 1980s.
Royal Park Hotel is connected to the metro station and New Town Plaza mall via a covered walkway and is close to local attractions such as Che Kung Temple, Sha Tin Racecourse and the Hong Kong Heritage Museum. Royal Park Hotel hosted Olympians competing in equestrian programmes during the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympic Games.
apm
Opened in March 2005, apm is one of the largest shopping malls targeted at a younger generation of consumers. The name APM is an amalgamation of AM and PM, reflecting how the shops in the mall operate with extended hours, allowing consumers to shop even at hours when most others shops are closed. APM has a lot of retail shops, restaurants and entertainment options, most of the open at least until midnight.
In tune with the theme of being young and trendy, APM houses retail brands that are typically tailored for a younger audience. A cinema, game zone and a karaoke bar are some of the other amenities that visitors can find in the mall.
Airport Freight Forwarding Centre
Transitional housing project - United Court
SHKP announced that it will lease three plots of land to non-governmental organizations for 8 years for a nominal sum of HK$1. The donation will yield around 2,000 social housing units for low-income families waiting for public housing. The company will team up with the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council for the biggest project called United Court. When completed in 2022, United Court would provide homes for 1,600 families and ultimately benefit 5,000 families.
Other businesses
The company also has complimentary operations in the following property-related fields:
* Hotels
* Property management
* Telecommunications
* Information technology
* Infrastructure and other businesses
It was once reported in a local newspaper that the company and Cheung Kong (Holdings)
Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited, is a multinational conglomerate, based in Hong Kong. It was one of Hong Kong's leading multi-national conglomerates. The company merged with its subsidiary Hutchison Whampoa on 3 June 2015, as part of a maj ...
are together increasingly dominant in the development of new private homes, accounting for 70% of the market in 2010, up from around half of that in 2003. This concentration, with much of the rest of the market occupied by other very large firms, is attributed to the government's policy of auctioning land inexpensively large blocks, squeezing out small and mid-sized firms, according to the Consumer Council
A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. T ...
.
Nevertheless, clarification was later made in the letters to editors column in the same newspaper that Sun Hung Kai Properties' overall share of primary residential sales in terms of attributable value from January to July 2010 has been approximately 20% – a figure that has been largely stable over the last few years.
Construction and project management
The subsidiary of SHKP, Sanfield (Management) Limited is the major construction project management company for the corporation's real estate development. Established in 1974, the company headquarter is located at Sun Hung Kai Centre. The company mainly provides construction service to SHKP to build private residential buildings, commercial office towers and comprehensive development. In 2020, it had about 3000 employees.
Sanfield provides a wide range of related services to SHKP and third parties, including landscaping, provision of electrical- and fire-prevention systems as well as leasing of construction plant and machinery. Through an associate and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, the company also supplies ready-mix concrete and precast concrete components to SHKP and external parties. The company is also an accredited corporation for provide construction safety training and engineering training by Hong Kong Labour Department and The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers
The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE, ) is a professional body of engineers in Hong Kong. It was founded in 1947 as the ''Engineering Society of Hong Kong'' and was incorporated by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong as ''The Hong Kong ...
.
Its major projects include:
* Sun Hung Kai Centre (1981)
* Two International Finance Centre
2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...
(2003)
* The Arch (2006)
* The Cullinan
The Cullinan is a luxury private housing estate located in the Union Square, West Kowloon, Hong Kong.
The building has glass curtain walls and views of Victoria Harbour. The glass facade matches the design language of the neighbouring I ...
(2009年)
* International Commerce Centre
The International Commerce Centre (abbreviated ICC) is a 118- storey, commercial skyscraper completed in 2010 in West Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is a part of the Union Square project on top of Kowloon station. It was the 4th tallest building in ...
(2010)
* Millennium City
A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannus, kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting ...
(1998-2022)
* YOHO Series Development (2004-2023)
* Sai Sha Road
Sai Sha Road () is a main road connecting Sai Kung Town, Sai Kung and Ma On Shan (town), Ma On Shan. It begins at the roundabout at Sai Kung Town, Mak Pin, Sai Kung and passes through Three Fathoms Cove and Shap Sze Heung before traversing the ne ...
Expansion Project (2023)
Property management
Hong Yip Service Company Limited and Kai Shing Management Services Limited are two of the main property management firms own by SHKP based in Hong Kong.
References
External links
Sun Hung Kai Properties
*
{{Hang Seng
Land developers of Hong Kong
Real estate companies established in 1963
1963 establishments in Hong Kong
Companies in the Hang Seng Index
Companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
Family-owned companies of Hong Kong