'Most expensive flat in Asia sold in Hong Kong'

A luxury flat in Hong Kong has sold for 225 million Hong Kong dollars, the most expensive apartment per square foot ever sold in Asia, a report said on Wednesday.

The 80th floor penthouse with a private swimming pool and spectacular view of Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour sold for 41,000 dollars per square foot, a report in the Sing Tao Daily said, citing an unnamed real estate source.

The 5,497-square-foot (511-square-metre) flat, with its own roof-top terrace, is located in a new complex called The Arch, in Hong Kong's Kowloon area.

The Arch is close to a yet-to-be-completed office tower, the International Commerce Centre.

The new tower is attracting multinational firms away from the central business district, where rocketing property prices have scared away even the world's richest firms.

The flat's price beat the record of 39,800 dollars per square foot set last November for a larger apartment on Hong Kong island, according to the report.

Hong Kong's property market has boomed in recent years, following a major crash during the Asian financial crisis in the later 1990s.