【英语中国】香港天价公寓销售交易取消引关注

The revelation that sales for what were supposed to be some of the world's most expensive condominiums never took place is generating a fresh wave of furor in Hong Kong over how residential properties are sold in this sensitive and volatile property market.

On Tuesday, blue-chip property developer Henderson Land Development Co. said that all but four of the 24 luxury condominiums it had sold last October for record prices at its 39 Conduit Road project were canceled by the buyers. The company, which is controlled by billionaire Lee Shau-kee, booked a loss of HK$734 million (US$94.2 million) from the cancellations.

Bonnie Ngan, a spokeswoman for Henderson Land, said Wednesday that the cancellations were 'very standard' in the industry, and that 'there was nothing untransparent about what happened,' saying that the company had pocketed these buyers' initial deposits and would put the condominiums back on the market.

The ramifications could be broader for the industry, as the government vows to crack down on developers' sales practice amid fears of a property bubble and growing anger at the city's powerful developers. On the very same day Henderson Land announced the sky-high sale prices at 39 Conduit Road last October, Hong Kong's chief executive Donald Tsang was delivering a major policy address vowing to tamp down property prices.

After Henderson Land announced its sales, home prices jumped in the upscale Mid-Levels District where 39 Conduit Road sits. Some analysts say the announced sales had a knock-on effect on sentiment in the broader property market, putting further upward pressure on prices in a city where mass-market apartment prices soared about 30% last year.

The government said late Tuesday that it 'shared the public's concern about the transactions...which the developer announced last year,' and would gather more information and 'consider the next step.'

After the 39 Conduit Road sale last October, Hong Kong's government began requiring developers to make transaction information available to the public five days after an initial sales contract is signed. It has also introduced a bevy of measures, guidelines and requirements that it says has enhanced the transparency of home sales and protected consumer rights.

But some critics have called for the government to put legislative backing to any new requirements, and even to consider creating a regulatory body to oversee home sales in the same way Hong Kong's securities regulators polices the stock market.

'In Hong Kong, we have legislation to protect people when they go to the market to buy food, but when you spend millions and millions to buy a property, there's no legislation to protect you,' says Emily Lau, a Democratic Party lawmaker. 'For decades, the people of Hong Kong have been taken for a ride by a handful of developers. This latest saga just highlights how ridiculous it all is.'

Ms. Lau also said she hoped the government would closely examine the alleged transactions at 39 Conduit Road and 'see if there are any charges that can be laid against any people and see if they've committed any fraud.'

Ms. Ngan, the Henderson Land spokeswoman, said that the company had been more forthcoming than usual with its sales at 39 Conduit Road, and said that any suggestion of fraud was 'ridiculous.'

The 39 Conduit Road sales last October generated a wave of attention in part because of Henderson Land's claim that it sold one 6,158-square-foot unit for a record US$56.6 million. The unit, which was marketed as sitting on the 68th floor of the building, was actually on the 44th floor, thanks to an unusual numbering plan that skipped scores of numbers deemed to be inauspicious (those containing the number four, for example, which sounds like a Chinese word for death) and highlighted the ones considered lucky (such as ones containing eight, which sounds like a word for prosperity). The top floor of the 46-story building is called the 88th floor.

In response, the government said last year that developers will have to 'set out the floor numbering information clearly' in the front of their sales brochure. -By Jonathan Cheng, The Wall Street Journal; Jonathan.Cheng@wsj.com

位列全球最贵之列的公寓天价售出，最终却曝出交易并未成功，在香港这个敏感而动荡的市场，这种情形引发人们对住宅出售方式的新一波怒火。

Bloomberg News香港干德道39号住宅项目周二香港蓝筹地产开发商恒基兆业地产有限公司（Henderson Land Development）宣布，该公司去年10月以天价出售的干德道39号住宅项目24套豪华公寓除4套外均被买主取消。富豪李兆基掌控的这家公司因此计入损失7.34亿港元(约9420万美元)。

恒基兆业发言人颜雪芳(Bonnie Ngan)周三说，交易取消在业内很平常，发生的一切事宜没什么不透明的。她还说，公司已没收买主的定金，并将取消合同的公寓重新投放市场。

这对房地产行业的影响可能更大。因担心房地产泡沫及公众对香港势力强大的开发商的怨气不断增长，政府已决意打压开发商的销售行为。就在恒基兆业宣布干德道39号去年10月售出天价的同一天，香港特首曾荫权正在做一场重要的施政报告，誓言要打压房地产价格。

继恒基兆业宣布以天价售出公寓后，干德道39号所在的香港高端半山区住宅价格跳升。部分分析师说，恒基兆业宣布天价出售公寓，对大范围房地产市场的购买欲望产生连锁效应，给香港房价造成进一步的上行压力。香港的普通住宅价格去年飙升约30%。

香港政府周二晚些时候说，政府与公众一样关注去年开发商宣布的这些交易，并将收集进一步的信息，以考虑下一步的举措。

Bloomberg News干德道39号住宅公寓的标识张贴在大厅窗户上。在去年10月干德道39号公寓宣布已出售后，香港政府开始要求开发商在签定初步销售合同五天后向公众宣布交易信息。政府还导入了一系列的措施、规范及要求，并称以此强化了住宅销售信息的透明度，保护了消费者的权利。

但部分批评人士呼吁政府采取法制手段来支持新规定的施行，甚至可考虑成立一个监管机构来监督住宅销售，正如香港证监会监督股市一样。

香港立法会民主党委员刘慧卿(Emily Lau)说，香港人去市场买东西时受法律保护，但当耗资数百万买房产时，却没有法律保护。几十年来，香港人一直受少数开发商的蒙蔽。最新的这起事件正说明这一切是多么荒谬。

刘慧卿还说，她希望政府能仔细审查所谓的干德道39号交易，看是否可对某些人提起指控，这些人是否有欺诈行为。

恒基兆业发言人颜雪芳说，对干德道39号的销售情况，公司一直非常乐于提供信息，任何认为有欺诈行为的说法都是站不住脚的。

去年10月份干德道39号公寓出售引发特别关注，部分原因是恒基兆业称以5,660万美元天价出售了其中一套6,1580平方英尺的公寓。这套推广中据称是第68层的公寓，实际上位于建筑的第44层，因楼层标号采取的方式与众不同，跳过了许多看似不吉利的数字(例如四这个数字，中文发言同死)，并突出了被认为是幸运的数字(如八，与“发”近音)。这座46层高的建筑的顶层被称作第88层。

作为回应，香港政府去年称，开发商必须在宣传推广册上明确公布楼层编号信息。