A consortium led by Chinese private equity firm Hony Capital, alongside Hong Kong real estate heavyweights, is in the market to raise a HKD2.3bn (circa $294m) loan to support the development of the Plover Cove Golf Club in Hong Kong, according to a report by Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the matter.
The five-year facility will partially fund the transformation of a restored landfill site into an 18-hole, par-71 championship golf course in Tai Po, a district in the New Territories. A portion of the financing will also be allocated towards refinancing existing obligations, the sources said.
Hony Capital is partnering with Lai Sun Development and the family behind Far East Consortium International for the project, which marks the city’s first golf course built on privately owned reclaimed land. The project broke ground in August 2023 and is targeting a 2027 opening, according to the Plover Cove Golf Club’s official website.
A spokesperson for the club confirmed the development remains on schedule and is expected to generate up to 350 jobs upon completion. Representatives for Hony Capital, Lai Sun, and Far East Consortium declined to comment.
The financing effort comes against a backdrop of heightened scrutiny over the use of land for golf in Hong Kong. The government is currently appealing a court decision that blocked its attempt to repurpose part of the Fanling Golf Course – a public site popular with the city’s elite – for a major public housing development. The Tai Po project, by contrast, is situated on privately held land and remains unaffected by the Fanling dispute.
Equity ownership in the Tai Po development is split among the partners, with Hony Capital holding a 45% stake, the David Chiu family (Far East Consortium) controlling 40%, and Peter Lam’s Lai Sun Development retaining the remaining 15%, according to the same sources.
