Kai Tak Hotel Site Fails To Sell Due To Low Bids

The first commercial site offered for bidding at the former Kai Tak airport has been withdrawn from sale after some of Hong Kong's biggest developers failed to meet the government's reserve price.

Companies including CK Asset, Sun Hung Kai Properties and Wharf submitted bids for the site, which is earmarked for a hotel. It had been expected to go for at least HK$7.9 billion.

It's a further sign of a difficult property market. The government last withdrew a site from auction in October, when a residential plot at the Peak failed to attract strong enough bids.

Residential plots at Kai Tak have sold for record prices in recent years. But the biggest buyer, mainland conglomerate HNA Group, was forced to sell three of the four sites it bought amid financial distress, and is expected to sell the fourth as well.