London’s latest international investor, Chinachem Group, has made a splash in the capital buying the long leasehold of TikTok’s HQ for £158.5m.
Chinachem has bought the six-storey 88,580 sq ft Kaleidoscope office building from Helical and is now preparing itself for “incremental exposure” to more gateway cities of “other major developed markets”.
But what do you need to know about the privately-owned Hong Kong developer to ensure you are able to offer it that exposure it seeks?
In its homeland, Chinachem, which was founded in 1960 by Teddy and Nina Wang, is best known for its mixed portfolio of residential, shopping malls, hotels, office, industrial investments and car parks. So, it won’t just be offices that this new investor is eyeing.
The company has more than 3,000 staff, an existing portfolio of 7.5m sq ft with a further 3.9m sq ft under development. Over the past five years it has reported revenues of more than HK$32bn (£3.5bn).
Led by executive director and chief executive Donald Choi, the company says its puts “social and environmental values on an equal footing to profit,”, so Grade A investments with a strong ESG credentials are likely to be high on its list of investment needs.
Like a Larry Fink, Choi believes in the “balancing of people, prosperity and planet” in his business.
That wasn’t always the case, however. Pre-2018, company built plenty of the tiny flats Hong Kong is known for. But four years ago, as part of a reinvention of the company’s brand and mission to be known as for socially-oriented values – plus the arrival of Choi at the helm – he imposed a new policy: no longer would it build flats smaller than 18.6 sq m.
Alongside running Chinachem, Choi, who was previously managing director of Hong Kong developer Nan Fung Group and a director of Foster and Partners, is now president of the Hong Kong Institute of Architects. Will design factor highly in decision making when building that exposure?
What will matter is that assets are in locations with “impressive rental growth” and in some of the best-performing submarkets. And diversification is key for Chinachem, say Choi, alongside delivering long-term, resilient income streams.
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