Shares of Hong Kong real estate company Goldin Properties shot up as much as 65 per cent on Thursday after it sold a number of assets including a 117-storey skyscraper – among the tallest in the world – for Rmb18.0bn ($2.8bn).

Details of the transaction are murky. The two buyers, who will split the cost, are described as “an associate of the Chairman who is a connected person and an independent third party.” The transaction, subject to shareholder approval, is expected to be done by February 29.

Goldin Properties, one of two listed companies owned by Goldin Group and tightly-held by billionaire Chairman Pan Sutong, has been among the volatile stocks in Hong Kong this year. Between January and May it shot up 450 per cent, expanding its market value to nearly $13bn, before collapsing by as much as 80 per cent. When its shares were suspended on December 8, it was still sporting a 55 per cent gain for the year, for a value of $3.6bn.