〈The Standard, Apr 22, 2023〉Rare residential sites located on The Peak have caught the attention of consortiums, as evidenced by the recent sale of a super luxury site at a record-breaking price of HK$5 billion.

Last week, an expensive housing site transaction took place on The Peak. The land located at 30-38 Magazine Gap Road, which was owned by the family of Loke Yew, the tin mining king in Malaysia, for over 70 years, was sold to a consortium for HK$5 billion.

That is the third highest price ever paid for residential land in Hong Kong, and the sale came at a premium of about HK$100,420 per square foot.

The site, with an area of about 66,650 square feet, was put up for sale by a surveyor company in February.

〈Hong Kong Business, Apr 21, 2023〉More than 85% of the first batch of units of the Grade A office building at 23 Wong Chuk Hang Road (WCH) has been sold, generating over $700m.

In a statement, Ken Lee, Assistant Vice President, Investments, Rykadan Capital Asset Management said 55 of the 65 units available for sale were sold in the first round.

The average price of the units sold was between $14,200 per square foot (sq ft.), with one unit priced at $16,300 per sq ft.

〈Hong Kong Business, Apr 20, 2023〉It has been over two decades since rent controls have been implemented in Hong Kong, a city that has usually been laissez-faire with price controls; which is why for low-income families dwelling in subdivided units (SDUs) who have been grappling with high rents, plans under the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) (Amendment) Ordinance 2021 to prohibit any increase in the rent for the first term of tenancy, which is equivalent to two years, should be welcomed.

On renewal, which is another two years, landlords of the so-called “cage houses” or “coffin homes” may only increase rent up to a 10% cap, but they may be restricted to an even lower rent rise.

The rent hike for the second term tenancy is determined by the percentage change of the citywide rental index published by the Rating and Valuation Department, which means that landlords cannot always increase the second term rent by 10%.

〈The Standard, Apr 19, 2023〉LVMH is shifting resources out of Hong Kong, reflecting waning interest in what used to be Asia’s premium shopping hub as mainland Chinese consumers switch to shopping at home.

The top global luxury conglomerate wants to focus more of its investment in burgeoning metropolises such as Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou and Shenzhen as Hong Kong loses its relevance in the Greater China region, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations.

To that end, it’s already moved the regional headquarters of some brands, including the group’s local head office, to Shanghai, and relocated some senior executives to the mainland, the people said.

〈CNN Business, Apr 18, 2023〉In response to last month’s turbulence in the banking industry, financial regulators on Friday proposed a more comprehensive approach in identifying and addressing threats to financial stability, including closer scrutiny of nonbank financial companies.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced a new framework proposed by the Financial Stability Oversight Council that outlines the vulnerabilities in the financial system and the tools regulators can use to address those risks.