SHKP hotel business down 10pc due to Occupy Central, Thomas Kwok claims
The The Occupy Central movement has caused business to decline at the Ritz-Carlton and Sun Hung Kai Properties' other hotels by as much as 10 per cent, company co-chairman Thomas Kwok said.
The Occupy Central movement has caused business to decline at the Ritz-Carlton and Sun Hung Kai Properties' other hotels by as much as 10 per cent, company co-chairman Thomas Kwok said yesterday.
He and his brother Raymond Kwok, co-chairmen and managing directors of Hong Kong's second-largest property group, attended a rare Saturday annual general meeting of their company, as their High Court trial, along with that of co-defendants including former chief secretary Rafael Hui Si-yan, for bribery and other offences continues.
Thomas Kwok, who would only answer questions relating to SHKP's property business, said the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect scheme, due to start tomorrow, was "a very good start".
"The through train is an important first step in the central authority's full opening up of the [yuan] capital account and renminbi business.
"To choose to do this in Hong Kong means a lot. It shows Hong Kong and Shanghai will be financial centres with different roles, and that will bring benefits to Hong Kong in the long run."
He said the Occupy movement had affected retail, transport and hotel businesses the most and dragged down the fourth-quarter economic growth forecast.