/// International Property News
Hong Kong Property Tycoons Stand Trial in
City’s Biggest Graft Case
Chinese Investors Lead the
Manhattan Property Race
The Richest Man in Asia Is Selling Everything in China
on its back just by dumping a
portion of its Treasuries in order
to defend the yuan.
Khazanah Invest
RM215 Million in
Philippine Developer
Now, you’d think that a major
credit crunch with far-reaching
consequences in the world’s
second largest economy, its
largest manufacturer, and its
largest holder of US dollar
reserves, would be constant
front-page news.
But it’s not.
Thomas and Raymond Kwok,
the billionaire co-chairmen of
Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd,
Asia’s largest developer, went
on trial on Thursday in Hong
Kong’s biggest corruption
case since the city’s anti-graft
agency was formed nearly 40
years ago.
The case involves a series of
payments and loans totaling
more than HK$35 million
($4.5 million) allegedly paid to
Rafael Hui, who had headed
Hong Kong’s civil service from
2005 to 2007.
The three men have pleaded
not guilty to all charges,
including conspiracy to offer
an advantage to a public
servant.
The case has thrown a
spotlight on the close
relationship between the
city’s powerful developers
and government in the
former British colony, which
returned to Chinese rule in
1997 and has a separate legal
system from the mainland.
The Kwok brothers, who run
the world’s second-largest
property company with a
market capitalization of $34
billion, have been charged
with a total of seven offences,
including claims related to
alleged payments offered to
Hui.
Thomas Chan, a board
member in charge of land
purchases at Sun Hung Kai
Properties, and Francis Kwan,
a former Hong Kong Stock
60
Exchange official, have also
been charged in the case.
They have also pleaded not
guilty.
All five defendants appeared
in court, where about
50 photographers and
cameramen jostled to get
shots of the men at the
entrance.
Thomas Kwok, wearing
a black suit and red tie,
thanked reporters as he
entered the court looking
relaxed.
HIGH-FLYING LEGAL TEAM
The prosecution and
defendants have hired highprofile lawyers for the trial,
with local media reporting the
Kwok brothers could spend
more than HK$100 million in
legal fees, which would mark
the most ever paid in the city.
Clare Montgomery, a
specialist in criminal and
fraud law, is representing
Thomas Kwok. She led the
prosecution team in the
extradition case to Sweden
of Julian Assange, founder
of whistleblower website
WikiLeaks.
John Kelsey-Fry, a lawyer who
represented former News
Corp. executive Rebekah
Brooks in a phone-hacking
scandal, is defending
Raymond Kwok.
Hong Kong’s Court of First
Instance will summon more
than 80 witnesses during the
www.PropertyHunter.com.my
trial, which is scheduled to
run for 70 days, according to
local media reports.
The Independent
Commission
Against Corruption (ICAC)
arrested the tycoons in
March 2012 in the agency’s
biggest investigation since it
was set up in 1974 to root
out widespread corruption
in the then-British colonial
government and police.
Sun Hung Kai Properties,
which has a market value
of $34 billion, has said the
legal battle will not affect its
business and operations.
Shares in the company
were down 0.6 percent on
Thursday morning, lagging
a 0.6 percent gain for the
broader market. The stock
has fallen 3.5 percent so far
this year.
Analysts have said the
company has already taken
steps to reassure investors,
including the appointment
of additional non-executive
directors and naming Adam
Kwok and Edward Kwok,
the sons of Thomas and
Raymond Kwok, as alternative
directors.
Sun Hung Kai is the city’s
largest real estate developer,
followed by Cheung Kong
(Holdings) Ltd, which is
controlled by Asia’s richest
man Li Ka-shing. ($1 = 7.7520
Hong Kong Dollars)
According to a recent
Forbes Asia report,
Chinese buyers have
overtaken overseas
investors from Russia in
terms of volume and sales,
as the recently imposed
economic sanctions
continue to stymie
demand from the eastern
European market.
Ultra-wealthy Chinese
investors—who have
spent as much as USD90
million on US residential
property—are also
reportedly vying with
Hollywood celebrities when
buying homes in New York
City. Recently, Brad Pitt and
Leonardo DiCaprio both
lost their bids to purchase
a USD26 million mansion
in Manhattan to Beijingbased Zhang Xin, CEO
of real estate developer
SOHO China.
Major Chinese developers
have also increased their
investments in high-profile
projects in the United
States.
Earlier this year, Vanke, one
of China’s largest property
firms, announced the
construction of a 61-storey
luxury condominium tower
in 5