t a time when few dare to invest in China’s beleaguered property market, Hongkong Land CEO Robert Wong is doubling down. Over the past two years, the developer has made its largest-ever investment commitment in its 133-year history to transform the riverfront south of Shanghai’s city center into a new financial hub, while also adding residential projects in select Chinese cities.

In February 2020, when Covid-19 gripped China and was spreading globally, the company acquired a 231,300-square-meter site in Shanghai for $4.4 billion, which it is now developing at a total cost of $8.4 billion as part of a joint venture. The following year, even as several leading Chinese developers started showing financial strain, Hongkong Land bought eight new residential sites to build mostly mid- to high-end homes, boosting its mainland portfolio to 35 projects across seven cities as of December 2021.

“One should not be put off by short-term fluctuations,” Wong, 61, says in an exclusive interview at the company’s Hong Kong headquarters in late June. “When opportunities come, we should be brave and grab them.” While many property counterparts have shelved investment plans following Beijing’s crackdown on excessive borrowing that has spiraled into a debt crisis, Wong has almost doubled Hongkong Land’s investments across Asia to an average of $3.3 billion over the past two years from the pre-pandemic level of $1.8 billion, including strengthening the company’s core portfolio in Hong Kong and expanding its Southeast Asian footprint.

Shanghai West Bund financial hub (artist rendering). The project will deliver a gross floor area of 1.1 million square meters.

COURTESY OF HONGKONG LAND

The crown jewel of Asian conglomerate Jardine Matheson, Hongkong Land has overcome many challenges through its long history. From surviving the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during WWII to the 1997 Asian financial crisis and beyond, the company has helped shape the city’s famous skyline and turned Central into one of the world’s most prestigious business districts.

The Singapore-listed company has often found silver linings in dark economic times. Its Exchange Square, which houses the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as well as global banks and law firms, opened during Hong Kong’s stock market collapse in the 1980s. After the 1997 financial crisis, Hongkong Land took advantage of depressed prices to snap up sites in Southeast Asia, allowing it to become a major regional developer. However, with mainland China’s prolonged property market slump and a wave of defaults by leading local developers including China Evergrande Group and Sunac China Holdings, coupled with rising vacancies in Hong Kong amid tough Covid-19 restrictions, Hongkong Land once again faces turbulence.

t a time when few dare to invest in China’s beleaguered property market, Hongkong Land CEO Robert Wong is doubling down. Over the past two years, the developer has made its largest-ever investment commitment in its 133-year history to transform the riverfront south of Shanghai’s city center into a new financial hub, while also adding residential projects in select Chinese cities.

In February 2020, when Covid-19 gripped China and was spreading globally, the company acquired a 231,300-square-meter site in Shanghai for $4.4 billion, which it is now developing at a total cost of $8.4 billion as part of a joint venture. The following year, even as several leading Chinese developers started showing financial strain, Hongkong Land bought eight new residential sites to build mostly mid- to high-end homes, boosting its mainland portfolio to 35 projects across seven cities as of December 2021.

“One should not be put off by short-term fluctuations,” Wong, 61, says in an exclusive interview at the company’s Hong Kong headquarters in late June. “When opportunities come, we should be brave and grab them.” While many property counterparts have shelved investment plans following Beijing’s crackdown on excessive borrowing that has spiraled into a debt crisis, Wong has almost doubled Hongkong Land’s investments across Asia to an average of $3.3 billion over the past two years from the pre-pandemic level of $1.8 billion, including strengthening the company’s core portfolio in Hong Kong and expanding its Southeast Asian footprint.

Shanghai West Bund financial hub (artist rendering). The project will deliver a gross floor area of 1.1 million square meters.

COURTESY OF HONGKONG LAND

The crown jewel of Asian conglomerate Jardine Matheson, Hongkong Land has overcome many challenges through its long history. From surviving the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong during WWII to the 1997 Asian financial crisis and beyond, the company has helped shape the city’s famous skyline and turned Central into one of the world’s most prestigious business districts.

The Singapore-listed company has often found silver linings in dark economic times. Its Exchange Square, which houses the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as well as global banks and law firms, opened during Hong Kong’s stock market collapse in the 1980s. After the 1997 financial crisis, Hongkong Land took advantage of depressed prices to snap up sites in Southeast Asia, allowing it to become a major regional developer. However, with mainland China’s prolonged property market slump and a wave of defaults by leading local developers including China Evergrande Group and Sunac China Holdings, coupled with rising vacancies in Hong Kong amid tough Covid-19 restrictions, Hongkong Land once again faces turbulence.