When The Center skyscraper was sold in Hong Kong in 2017, the record US$5.2 billion (S$7 billion) price tag was so high that investors had to form a consortium to take a majority stake and divvy up the floors. That decision is rapidly becoming a millstone.
Cash-strapped owners, many of them Chinese home builders, are now competing with one another to secure revenue from tenants or buyers at the 73-storey tower after housing sales in the mainland collapsed.
Values have been dragged down as a result, with some space now offered at almost 50 per cent less than the purchase price. That compares with a wider drop of about 30 per cent for offices in the Central district since June 2018, according to data compiled by broker Knight Frank.
On a visit by Bloomberg News reporters in April, ceiling panels were missing in places, with long electric wires hanging from gaps on some floors. Back then, there were notices plastered over the entrance of a vacant office that suggested its previous occupant had not been paying rent.
On the same level, withered leaves littered the floor beneath a Chinese money tree, the symbol of good luck and prosperity.
The woes at the building symbolise a broader credit bust that hit the city after the Chinese government's crackdown on excessive leverage ended a property frenzy.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 24, 2024 من The Straits Times.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة July 24, 2024 من The Straits Times.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
WINE BAR RENAISSANCE
New bars add to the tippling scene in Singapore
Is that hairy crab you ordered the real deal?
The prized crustacean is in season, with most restaurants getting their produce from Yangcheng Lake or Lake Tai in China
From making tamales to starting a Mexican eatery, mum's the word
Making tamales stirred up memories of Ms Maribel Colmenares' late mother, so much so that she could not stop crying as she prepared the traditional Mexican staple for her home-based business.
Singapore Land Authority chief finds life lessons in memoirs and business books
Who: Colin Low, 48, chief executive of Singapore Land Authority (SLA). He joined SLA in 2021 after more than 20 years in the private sectors of real estate and hospitality.
Malaysian writer tackles trauma, female rage with sensitivity
Included in the beginning of the book by Malaysian author Hanna Alkaf is a list of trigger warnings, a much appreciated touch as the story touches on trauma and its effects.
Andre Aciman's My Roman Year a transporting memoir of adolescent exile
Most people remember their adolescence by its major furniture pieces lengthy school years, overstated rebellion, early pangs of desire.
French author's swansong proves conservatives create great art too
Purportedly his final novel, Michel Houellebecq's Annihilation is a wide-ranging vehicle for communicating his views from religion to death
My hearse is a 'sports car'
Let's Talk About Death is a five-episode docuseries that follows millennials and their loved ones as they navigate end-of-life planning, and it starts honest conversations about death and dying well.
Slaying' with Gen Z marketing
More government ministries and public institutions are embracing a worldwide social media trend, in which Gen Z interns write the marketing script for their older colleagues to present
Gen Z start-up launches Singapore's first menopause festival
Femtech start-up Surety's co-founders were inspired by their mums' experiences
