Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Li Ka-shing’s US$1.2 billion scheme to build 3,500 homes on former royal dockyard site in London gets green light after 15 years

CK Asset’s US$1.26 billion Convoys Wharf project in Deptford, southeast London which will comprise houses, hotels, shops and restaurants. The company has been embroiled in planning red tape since buying the docklands site for £100 million in 2005

CK Asset Holdings, the developer founded by Hong Kong’s best known tycoon, has been given the green light from the UK government to start work on a £1 billion (US$1.26 billion) project offering 3,500 homes in London 15 years after it bought the site.

Approval for the first phase of the development in Deptford, southeast London, came within days of Prime Minister Boris Johnson offering Hongkongers a path to British citizenship in the wake of the controversial national security law imposed by Beijing.

It means building work can finally begin after the developer bought the docklands site from News International for £100 million (HK$978.4 million) in 2005. It has spent the intervening years trying to get approval for a project that formed part of its efforts to diversify into overseas markets at the time.

The Hong Kong developer confirmed to the Post that it had obtained a permit to start construction of the Convoys Wharf project, which will eventually comprise houses, hotels, shops and restaurants.

At 16.6 hectares, the plot is about three quarters the size of the Taikoo Shing neighbourhood in Hong Kong Island’s Quarry Bay, or equivalent to about 23 football fields.

Boris Johnson, then mayor of London, approved the regeneration of the 500-year-old Deptford dockyards, two miles from the Canary Wharf financial district, in 2014.

Since buying the site in 2005, Li’s development company had submitted numerous different versions of its plans, and become bogged down in an arduous process of consultation exercises, rejected proposals and design revisions, according to sources familiar with the matter.



Lewisham Borough Council finally voted to allow the first phase of the master plan, consisting of 456 flats in residential blocks ranging from two to 14 storeys, on June 11.

The consent came soon after Johnson, writing in The Times and the South China Morning Post on June 3, said his government is ready to offer the right to live and work in the UK to the nearly 3 million Hong Kong citizens eligible for a British National (Overseas) passport. The change in UK immigration law was a direct response to Beijing’s national security law, seen by critics as an erosion of the former British colony’s freedoms.

The offer allows Hongkongers eligible for the BN (O) passport to stay in the country for 12 months – an extension from six months previously – potentially putting them on the path to full citizenship.

“It is good timing, with the relaxation of the BN (O) rules – we will see more Hong Kong homebuyers heading for the UK. A home-grown developer’s project will definitely attracts Hongkongers – after all CK [Asset] is a big name for us,” said Vincent Cheung, managing director of Vincorn Consulting and Appraisal. “And we will see more Hong Kong developers picking up projects and land in the UK. Hong Kong buyers are their target, but they are also targeting local British buyers and overseas buyers.”

CK Asset is Hong Kong’s second-largest developer and was founded by “Superman” Li, a household name in the city and formerly its richest man.

His empire, under the umbrella of CK Asset group, is a hugely ubiquitous presence at home covering shopping malls and supermarkets, hotels, telecoms providers, logistics and utilities. It even has a well known Hong Kong neighbourhood partially named after one of its former business units – Hutchison Whampoa.

Any Hongkongers who do decide to move into Convoys Wharf could find themselves in a home away from home, surrounded by signs of the conglomerate’ such as its Superdrug chain of shops, the Three mobile phone network and the Greene King pubs.

Convoy Wharf, once complete, will offer 3,500 homes including about 500 affordable units, the developer told the Post.

Shops, restaurants, offices, cultural spaces and a 1.5-acre park will be built on the former Royal Dockyards site, founded by King Henry VIII in 1513 and the spot where the legendary naval captain Sir Francis Drake was knighted aboard the Golden Hind in 1581.

The start of the £1 billion regeneration scheme comes as the UK economy reels, having first taken a hit from Brexit and then an even greater thump from the coronavirus outbreak.

Louis Tse, managing director at VC Asset Management in Hong Kong, believes the decision to approve the project would have been motivated by commercial considerations as such a large-scale housing project would create jobs for locals and help to revive the UK economy, he said.

“Undoubtedly, the issuance of the permit will inspire political interpretations behind the move,” Tse added. “The easing in immigration policy will not only bring in talent but also attract investment capital from Hong Kong.”

In 2014, when the master plan was first approved, the developer said an investment of over £70 million into local amenities would be involved.

UK property is expected to be a major focus in the second half of this year for the Asia Bankers Club, which focuses on marketing overseas real estate to professionals in the banking industry in Hong Kong.

“Hongkongers have quickened their buying decisions after the news concerning BN (O) passport holders. More purchasers are considering UK properties for second homes, rather than for investment purposes,” said Carol Li, the club’s business director. “We have seen strong buying interest. Last weekend, at least 200 clients attended our exhibition.”

The BN (O) document was first issued in 1987, a decade before the handover of Hong Kong from Britain to China. It replaced the British Dependent Territories Citizens passport (BDTC), which gave holders the right to live in Hong Kong, but no other British territory. Hongkongers could register for a BN (O) passport until June 30, 1997.

People born after that date would only be eligible for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) passports.
As of February 24, about 350,000 Hongkongers held BN (O) passports, while another 2.5 million were eligible to apply, according to government data.




AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×