Chinese Estates sells Moon Ocean for HK$4.87 billion

Chinese Estates has sold its subsidiary Moon Ocean for HK$4.87 billion to its former chairman Joseph Lau, the company announced in a filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Moon Ocean includes the total investment cost of the La Scala project and interest that incurred at HK$4.83 billion. The proposed sale of the subsidiary came following the local Court of First Instance’s ruling in March that Joseph Lau and fellow Hong Kong businessman Lo Kit Sing be sentenced to jail for five years and three months for offering former public works secretary Ao Man Long HK$20 million in 2005 in exchange for successfully bidding for five plots of land near Macau Airport. This was the site where the high-end residence project La Scala was to be built. Joseph Lau stepped down from the chairman’s position of Chinese Estates following the court ruling, to be replaced by his son Lau Ming Wai.