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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 .