Legislators slam Hong Kong developer’s ploys

An exclusive apartment building at 39 Conduit Road towers above its neighbours in Hong Kong’s Mid-levels residential area.

A Hong Kong developer who sold an apartment for a world record price was yesterday condemned for selectively numbering the floors on a 46-storey building as a ploy to attract Chinese buyers.
Henderson Land Development sparked a debate over developers’ ethical standards with its latest project, “39 Conduit Road,” when it numbered the top two floors of the building 68 and 88, both lucky numbers for Chinese people.
The number “eight” sounds like “fortune” in Mandarin and Cantonese. Chinese people like the number “88” as it symbolises “double fortune” and “68” as it sounds like “continuing fortune.”
Albert Ho, chairman of the Democratic Party, said the government would encourage unscrupulous property marketing practices if it did not intervene.
“The developer has crossed the line. This is a classic incident to show how powerful big developers are in Hong Kong,” he said, adding that he would meet officials today to discuss the issue.
Another legislator, Miriam Lau, said it was important that buyers were not misled by developers’ floor-numbering systems.
Last week, the supposed 68th floor of the luxury duplex (a combination of the 43rd and 44th floors, according to media reports) was sold for a world record of 88,000 Hong Kong dollars (11,300 US dollars) per square foot.
Henderson said they were hoping to charge 100,000 Hong Kong dollars per square foot for the 88th floor unit (on the 45th and 46th floors, reports said), which has not yet been placed on the market.
Developers have been criticised for other marketing strategies, such as the use of “Peak” – which refers to one of the most expensive residential areas on Hong Kong Island ­– to name properties which are nowhere near there.