Hong Kong’s second-largest hotel, controlled by family of billionaire Hui Wing Mau, risks being seized by banks

By Sandy Verma On Jun 8, 2026

The lenders are in advanced discussions to appoint receivers for the more than 1,200-room property to accelerate its sale and recover funds, sources familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

Shimao Group Holdings is controlled by the family of property tycoon Mau, 75, who is worth $1.9 billion, according to Forbes.

Founder and chairman of Shimao Group Hui Wing Mau speaks at an overseas Chinese business roundtable during the 2015 Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) in Boao, south China’s Hainan Province, March 29, 2015. Photo by Xinhua via AFP

Units of Shimao defaulted on the loan late last year. The original lenders to the project included HSBC Holdings, Bank of China (Hong Kong), Bank of East Asia and others.

The push for receivership is part of a wider trend in which Hong Kong banks are increasingly resorting to last-resort measures to reduce a record pile of bad debt.

While the city’s residential market has shown signs of recovery after its deepest downturn in decades, the commercial property sector continues to struggle with high vacancy rates and oversupply, compounded by distressed asset sales.

The asset on the block comprises the Sheraton and Four Points by Sheraton Tung Chung. It was first put up for sale by Shimao, once one of China’s largest developers.

The company has been lowering asking prices to attract buyers but without success. It cut prices to about HKD4.5 billion in late 2024 from at least HKD6 billion a year earlier, according to the South China Morning Post.

The complex, which opened in 2020, is the second-largest hotel property in Hong Kong by room count, according to real estate agent Jones Lang LaSalle.

Shimao, once an investment-grade company known for developing five-star hotels as landmark projects, first defaulted on offshore debt in July 2022. It obtained court approval for its offshore debt restructuring in March last year, Reuters reported.

Mau’s net worth peaked at $10.3 billion in 2021 but has been plunging since. His net worth has plunged as Shimao’s debt crisis forced a series of discounted asset sales, including floors in Hong Kong’s The Center, the former Lippo Centre headquarters and overseas properties.