Shui On’s Lo sees pent-up property demand in Hong Kong, China

KUALA LUMPUR: Vincent Lo, who controls Shanghai-based developer Shui On Land Ltd, said he doesn’t see a bubble forming in the Hong Kong and China property markets because there is pent-up demand for homes as the economies expand.

Shui On Land will focus on developing homes and commercial space in cities such as Shanghai, Wuhan and Dalian after accumulating land the past few years, Lo said in an interview here. The company is targeting 10 million square feet of development a year by 2012, he said.

“The reality is capital and financing is not so cheap and easy so we want to make sure that we will have very strong cash inflow for the company, so we are going to be stepping up on our production,” Lo said. “We only want to focus on the Chinese mainland because that is where the growth is.”

Shui On has a landbank of 13.2 million sq m in China, Lo said. The company is tapping on Chinese lenders for its projects because they are “keen to lend”, said Lo, who is both the chairman and the chief executive officer. – Bloomberg LP