Gigi Lai's HK Luxury Apartment Leased For S$14.5K A Month, Sets Record For Similar Units In Same Development

Gigi Lai is surely making a fortune out of her property investments. 

Recently, it was reported that one of the 53-year-old former TVB actress' luxury properties was leased out for HK$83K (S$14.5K) a month.

This whopping value set a new record for similar units in the development — Dynasty Court — located in Hong Kong’s upscale Mid-Levels Central area.

According to reports, Gigi bought the three-bedroom apartment in 2017 for HK$44mil (S$7.65mil), making it one of the most expensive purchases at that time in the complex.

The 1,282 sq ft apartment is located on a mid-to-high floor, and offers partial views of Victoria Harbour and surrounding green mountains. It also includes a private car parking space.

Though the property market has cooled in recent years, its rental continues to generate consistent income, yielding roughly 2.3 per cent of its purchased price annually. 

Gigi's affluence is deemed as highly remarkable given her humble beginnings. 

Born into a working-class family, she grew up in a cramped 215 sq ft public housing flat with her parents and siblings. Her family's financial situation eventually prompted her to enter showbiz in 1985 when she was just 14 years old.

Gigi quickly became one of Hong Kong's top actresses during her time, and purchased her first property 12 years later.

Her first home was an apartment in Flora Garden, another upscale estate in Mid-Levels.

At that time, she still had to make monthly mortgage payments, which were a significant financial burden even with her growing fame.

Gigi retired entirely from showbiz in 2008 to look after her dermatologist younger brother, Stephen Lai, after a serious car accident in 2007 left him wheelchair-bound.

That was also the year she married Hong Kong billionaire Patrick Ma, now 69.

She has since focused on family life and caring for their three daughters — Patricia and Gianna, both 14, and Pegella, 13 — while building a beauty empire after taking over her brother’s medical aesthetics company, CosMax.

Over the years, Patrick has also gifted Gigi several properties, including a HK$280mil (S$48.7 million) duplex in Grenville House.

He gifted her a HK$40mil (S$7mil) unit in Dynasty Court in 2011 to celebrate their twin daughters’ first birthday, and bought a HK$98mil (S$17mil) villa in Repulse Bay’s The Beachfront in 2012 during Gigi's second pregnancy.

The ex-actress now owns multiple high-end properties across Hong Kong, including those she bought herself and those gifted by her husband.

The estimated market value of her personal real estate portfolio alone is over HK$500mil (S$87 million), not including homes she purchased for her parents and brother.

Her company, CosMax, was also listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2017 and now boasts a market value in the billions.

Combined with her property portfolio, Gigi's estimated net worth reportedly exceeds HK$1 billion (S$174mil).