Adrian Cheng is expanding his K11 by AC in Mainland China with a new Xiamen destination that combines shopping, art, cultural tourism, and wetland conservation.
Xiamen K11 Select, developed in partnership with Xiamen Rail Transit Group, is located within the Wuyuan Bay Wetland Park TOD hub. The 95,000sqm destination features around 200 brands.
Cheng, who founded K11 in 2008, said the project introduces a new ‘Cultural Tourism District’ model designed to connect commerce, culture, urban development and nature.
“For me, this represents the next evolution of cultural commerce: not simply creating places to shop, but destinations that can contribute to how a city develops, how people experience culture, and how we coexist with the natural environment,” Cheng said in a statement.
The opening comes after Cheng departed from New World Development (NWD), where he served as CEO and vice-chairman. He stepped down as CEO in September 2024 and resigned from the company’s board last July.
Last year, Cheng established Almad Group, which has interests spanning culture, healthcare, entertainment, sports, media, commercial management and cultural tourism. K11 by AC is part of the group.
The Xiamen project is separate from New World Development’s K11 assets, which remain within the Hong Kong-listed property group.
NWD reported net debt of HK$126.3 billion at the end of June, compared with HK$120.1 billion a year earlier. The group is also pursuing a Shanghai C-REIT covering its Shanghai K11 Art Mall and Shanghai K11 Atelier NWT.
Separately, Bloomberg reported that Bain Capital is considering an investment in NWD, citing people familiar with the matter. The report follows NWD’s decision to return the 11 Skies project to Hong Kong’s Airport Authority.
