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Residential buildings in the Yuen Long area of Hong Kong, Jan. 31. 

Photographer: Billy H.C. Kwok/Bloomberg

Property Tycoons Ignore Flood Risk on Hong Kong's Last Frontier

As global warming pushes sea levels higher, the city’s largest developers are betting on low-lying areas.

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For Hong Kong tycoons like Li Ka-shing, the New Territories is the final frontier. The verdant stretch in the west end offers one of the last relatively undeveloped patches in the cramped city, a gold mine for development in the world’s most expensive housing market.

But for environmentalists watching the billion-dollar projects unfold, the expansion ignores a major risk: The district has a greater chance of flooding than almost anywhere else in Asia as global warming pushes sea levels higher.