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Ping An Insurance (Group), China's largest insurer by market value, will consolidate its local operations under one roof and keep its sight on Greater Bay Area growth potential, according to co-chief executive Jessica Tan Sin-yin.
The new base will be located in Kowloon, where the insurer agreed to pay HK$11.27 billion (US$ million) in April for 30 per cent of the office space atop the West Kowloon high-speed railway station from Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) and the controlling billionaire Kwok family.
"The investment shows our long-term commitment to Hong Kong," Tan said in an interview. "Despite what has happened in the past year, we still believe in the future of Hong Kong as an international financial centre and its important role in the Greater Bay Area."
Ping An intends to house the business of its Hong Kong subsidiaries and lease out extra space to other third parties for long-term investment income, Tan said in a phone interview with the South China Morning Post earlier this week.
Jessica Tan Sin-yin, co-CEO of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China. Photo: Jonathan Wong alt=Jessica Tan Sin-yin, co-CEO of Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China. Photo: Jonathan Wong
SHKP outbid three rival groups of developers to win the tender of the site in November with a record HK$42.2billion bid. It was the largest commercial land parcel ever sold by the city's government, equivalent to 47 Olympics-sized swimming pools.
The whole plot can be built into 3.17 million sq ft of gross floor area for retail, office or hotel use, or about 12 per cent more than the space in nearby International Commerce Centre, Hong Kong's tallest skyscraper. The project is expected to be fully developed over five years.
The group's investment in Hong Kong real estate market is an endorsement of the city's future at a time when the outlook was marred by months of anti-government protests. The insurance has continued to expand its footprint amid the controversial implementation of the national security law in late June.
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Hong Kong could also become the springboard for the insurer's international forays, according to Louis Tse Ming-kwong, managing director at VC Asset Management.
"Ping An's headquarters in Shenzhen can focus on mainland businesses while its [future] Hong Kong headquarters can help build up its international brand," he added. "Other international insurers such as AIA, Manulife also have their own [regional] headquarters in Hong Kong."