Lights out for Hong Kong’s first pay-TV service?
With 2,176 employees on staff, i-Cable says it still has HK$400 million of funds from Wharf Finance.
Wharf (Holdings) said it will exit the unprofitable business of providing pay-television and broadband internet, as Hong Kong’s largest retail landlord redirects its focus on property, which contributed to the 25 per cent increase in its 2016 earnings.
Wharf could not find a buyer for its struggling i-Cable Communications unit, according to a statement. Funding to i-Cable, which reported a HK$313 million loss last year, will not be extended upon expiry, Wharf said.
“The possibility to see i-Cable turning around is low,” Wharf’s chairman Stephen Ng Tin-hoi said during a Thursday press conference. “We have tried very hard to talk with many investors, but no one intended to buy.”
Ng, who also serves as i-Cable’s chairman and chief executive, said i-Cable will hire a financial adviser to review and find a strategy for its future.
“For now, we can’t answer whether i-Cable will close down. All decisions will be subject to the assessment by the future financial adviser,” he said. “First, we will see if we can find other financial support. If not, we will see if the company’s business can continue.”
