Hong Kong paper tycoon Raymond Lee buys Repulse Bay property for HK$1.45 billion, in city's priciest sale this year

Raymond Lee Man Chun, a veteran real estate investor and co-founder of Hong Kong's largest paper producer Lee & Man Paper Manufacturing, is believed to be the owner of the most expensive property sold this year in the city.

Lee and his wife Wong Man Yi are directors of a privately owned company called Winner Progress Limited, which paid HK$1.45 billion (US$185 million) to buy 8 Headland Road in Repulse Bay from the American International Assurance Company (AIA), according to Hong Kong's company records. The April 18 sale of the three-storey property, comprising nine apartment units, was disclosed by the Land Registry on April 23.

Lee and Wong could not be reached to comment. AIA paid HK$20.2 million in 1985 for the property, according to government records.

With a total gross floor area of 22,369 square feet (2,078 square metres), or an average of 2,485 sq ft for each unit, the property's sale price works out to HK$65,000 per sq ft, a price described as "reasonable" by Vincent Cheung, managing director at Vincorn Consulting and Appraisal.

"It is definitely the biggest transaction in the luxury property market this year," Cheung said, adding that demand remains strong for super deluxe homes in Hong Kong due to limited supply.

The insurance company still owns two properties in the neighbourhood, opting to hold on to 9 and 10 Headland Road for leasing. The flats, measuring about 3,100 sq ft, are being offered for about HK$230,000 per month, according to agents.

Lee & Man, founded in 1994, produces packaging paper, linerboard, containerboard, and wood pulp, employing 7,800 workers at factories in Jiangsu, Chongqing and Vietnam. The company reported HK$4.88 billion in net profit last year, on sales of HK$32.21 billion.

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