Hong Kong's property market is likely to warm up by the end of this month with another property giant Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) expressing interest in bidding for two urban plots to be auctioned on November 28.

SHKP Vice-President Thomas Kwok said yesterday: "The trigger prices are higher than the market expectation. But it reflects developers' high hopes on the market."

Earlier this year, SHKP successfully bid for a piece of residential land in Tsuen Wan for HK$53 million even though the selling price was 77 per cent higher than the offer price.

K. Wah International initiated the public auction of two plots in Boradcast Drive in Kowloon Tong and Ma On Shan in Sha Tin last month amid speculation that not many prime areas were available for development. The plots will ultimately go under hammer at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on November 28.

The Kowloon Tong plot has a gross floor area (GFA) of 18,264 square metres and the Sha Tin one, 49,320 square metres. Market watchers estimate the land sales could fetch the government about HK$5 billion, especially because other big players, such as Cheung Kong and Wheelock, too, have expressed strong interest in the plots.

Cheung Kong Executive Director Justin Chiu said that he was interested in the Ma On Shan plot because it was very close to many of his projects. The company could develop the project alone or join a venture with Hutchison Whampoa if it successfully bid for the land.

But despite the lukewarm response to property transactions, Kwok said, SHKP won't trigger a price-cutting war. "The market is fluctuating... and we don't use it as the barometer for devising our sales strategy," he said.

Market order

The Real Estate Developers' Association of Hong Kong plans to set up a compliance committee to supervise industry practices in order to silence criticism for the lack of transparency in property transactions.

Kwok endorsed the move and urged the industry to follow property sale guidelines strictly .

"The committee should comprise independent professionals from the legal and accounting sectors," Kwok said. Having industry people on the committee will make it more effective. "Since the industry is pretty complicated, insiders would understand the operations much easily," he said.