The decade and a half leading up to Hong Kong’s return to China in 1997 were edgy times for the city. Many local tycoons professed loyalty but ensured that they or their progeny had foreign passports – just in case.

The handover on June 30 1997 went smoothly enough, but two days later the Thai baht was devalued and the contagion effect of the Asian financial crisis wreaked havoc on the local economy. It contributed to the city’s property bubble bursting spectacularly: prices dropped by about 60 per cent over the next five years.

Amid the onset of this financial crisis, Vincent Lo, who heads Shui On Land, the Hong Kong midsized property developer with a market capitalisation of more than $2bn, was putting the finishing touches to an audaciously ambitious real estate investment – in mainland China.