Hang Seng Bank chief operating officer Vivien Chiu Wai-man has paid HK$40 million (US$5.14 million) for a 1,651 sq ft luxury flat in Happy Valley, joining a growing list of top business executives and affluent residents who are buying high-end real estate in Hong Kong amid an improving property market.
The flat in Beverly Hill on Broadwood Road was handed over to Chiu on October 6, according to Land Registry records. Chiu paid HK$24,228 per square foot for the flat, which was a record this year for the estate, according to agents.
The property was last sold for HK$16 million in 2014, according to government records.
Chiu is the second top official from the bank that acquired an upscale home in Hong Kong in a span of just over a month.
In late August, then Hang Seng Bank CEO Diana Ferreira Cesar paid HK$26.6 million to acquire a lived-in flat, measuring 1,193 sq ft or HK$22,232 per square foot, at Flora Garden in Tai Hang. Luanne Lim took over as the bank’s CEO effective this month.
The transactions reflected a meaningful rebound in Hong Kong’s residential property segment, as lived-in home prices and acquisitions have risen in recent months.
“Alongside the market’s overall performance, buyer confidence has strengthened with the support of a gradually easing financial environment,” said Rosanna Tang, executive director and head of research in Hong Kong at Cushman & Wakefield.
