Hong Kong, Oct 15 (DPA) A five-bedroom luxury duplex in Hong Kong has set a new world record after selling for $56.6 million, a news report said Thursday.
The price, which works out at almost $99,000 per square metre, is believed to have been paid by a mainland businessman, said a report in the South China Morning Post.

It breaks the world record for split-level properties previously held by One Hyde Park in London and has been taken as an indication that the slump in property prices caused by the global recession is over.

The property is on the 68th floor of a luxury complex by Henderson Land in the city’s upmarket Mid-levels area.

Henderson Land salesman Thomas Lam said the price per metre was calculated on gross floor area, which included common areas.

However, Lam said if you calculate on saleable space - the actual space inside the flat - the price per square metre is $122,225 which is higher than the $103,184 per square metre paid for the previous record-holder at One Hyde Park, London.

But the record may not remain unbroken for long with two duplexes on the top floor of the same complex on sale with an asking price of $130,000 per square metre.

Luxury property prices have surged in Hong Kong in recent years because of the shortage of supply but dipped early this year by as much as 30 percent as the economic crisis hit.

However, prices have rallied strongly in recent months as share prices have soared and the city’s economy has shown signs of emerging quickly from the global recession.

Earlier this month, a tiny one-bedroom flat measuring 75.8 square metres in a luxury complex sold for a record $3.16 million.