Hongkong Land looks for new opportunities to expand

Hongkong Land Limited, a listed property investment, management and development group, will continue to expand its footprint in China's key cities, betting on the country's prospect in the long run, its executive director said on Thursday.

"We are actively looking for new opportunities in Beijing, Shanghai and some key secondary cities," said Raymond Chow, executive director of Hongkong Land Limited.

The Hong Kong-based property developer is well known for its commercial projects. The company now has several projects in the mainland, including two commercial projects in Beijing and Shanghai and two complex projects in Chongqing and Chengdu.

"When we invest, we look for a very long term, at least a generation period. So we are still very confident in mainland's further growth despite the recent slowdown in the GDP growth," said Chow.

Hongkong Land's project in Beijing "WF Central", which is located on Wangfujing Street and with a gross floor area of 150,000 square meters, is expected to open in the second half of 2017. The project, with a total investment of $1 billion, consists of 50,000 sq m of luxury retail space and a Mandarin Oriental hotel.

According to Chow, the leasing goes on smoothly and all the leasable retail space will be booked by the middle of next year.

"Lots of luxury brands will be first introduced into Beijing," said Chow.