Alibaba in talks to acquire Hong Kong office in $900 million deal

By Lulu Yilun Chen

 

Chinese tech giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. is in talks to buy the upper 13 floors of One Causeway Bay in Hong Kong, in a deal worth about HK$7 billion ($900 million), the Hong Kong Economic Times reported, citing unidentified people.

 

Alibaba and its affiliates are currently leasing 10 floors at Times Square in Causeway Bay, with their tenancy set to expire in 2028, the newspaper reported.  

 

The Jack Ma-backed company has been making inroads in Hong Kong, along with its fintech affiliate Ant Group Co., as the companies expand overseas in search of growth. Alibaba would be taking advantage of a lull in the city’s commercial real estate market, where valuations have dropped and vacancy rates have surged to about 17 per cent. 

 

“The city’s office vacancy rate is within striking distance of an all-time high,” Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Patrick Wong and Francis Chan said in a Sept. 29 note.  

 

One Causeway Bay was developed by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group. It has 29 floors and retail space, according to an agency website.