A prominent Chinese businessman is behind the $8.8 million purchase of a 6,441sqm parcel of land adjacent to Crown Perth's main carpark.
A prominent Chinese businessman is behind the $8.8 million purchase of a 6,441sqm parcel of land adjacent to Crown Perth's main carpark.
RP data showed lot 1-5 Bow River Crescent, Burswood was sold to Crown Developers WA Pty Ltd, no relation to Crown Resorts, by EG Custodian Services Pty Ltd for $8 million plus GST.
According to ASIC documents, Crown Developers WA's majority shareholder is a company owned entirely by Adam Xiaoxiang Wang, a prominent Chinese businessman from the Henan province.
Mr Wang has interests in various industries, including property development, LED manufacturing, natural gas distribution and, in 2015, in dairy.
Mr Wang, along with a childhood friend Wayne Hou, purchased a dairy farm in Capel in 2015 through company Green Lake for $8 million.
The corner block (circled) sits adjacent to the Crown Perth carpark. Photo: Knight Frank.
At the time, Mr Wang floated a vision to export fresh WA milk to China to meet the country's growing dairy demands.
It included launching 'Capel Farm' concept stores in China, which sold the milk, as well as other WA produce.
It's unclear where the milk operation sits today, with the fresh milk to China market stalling due to the collapse of the 'daigou' market - a term used to describe the 'buying on behalf', multibillion-dollar cross-border trade in which overseas individuals purchase luxury goods for customers in China; and the premium fresh-freight market during the Covid pandemic.
Green Lake's original partner in the dairy venture, former ASX-listed Alterra Ltd (formerly Carbon Conscious), exited the dairy sector several years ago to focus on avocados.
The Burswood site, sold through agents from Cygnet West and Knight Frank, is one of the last remaining undeveloped pockets on the peninsula, and is zoned for mixed use.
The vendors worked with planning authorities to get a structure plan approved for the area that would allow up to 200 apartment on the site.
Cygnet West partner commercial agency Wayne Lawrence, who helped broker the deal, said he hoped the transaction was a sign of a market shift.
“High density development sites have been hard to sell, because of construction costs and builder availability, so hopefully this is the start of more transactions,” he said.
