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Wharf Holdingsi

Originally known as The Hong Kong and Kowloon Wharf and Godown Company, Ltd, The Wharf Holdings Ltd was founded in 1886 and is used to run wharfage and dockside warehousing. Its operations now span property, hotels, transport and warehousing. It owns the iconic Star Ferry, two major flagship properties in the Harbour City and Times Square shopping centres in Hong Kong, i-CABLE, Cable TV, Wharf T&T, and Modern Terminals.

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  • Total property sales fell by 44 per cent last year, while underlying net profit before provisions slipped 9 per cent, developer says in filing
  • Hong Kong’s market-friendly measures could breathe new life into the housing market; performance still depends on China’s recovery

Harbour City and Times Square owner’s full-year 2023 profit fell 3 per cent to US$767.3 million even as revenue jumped 7 per cent. The company hopes to overcome headwinds through promotional activities with the Hong Kong government.

Hong Kong’s luxury property segment is showing signs of a revival, with mainland buyers returning to the market. Analysts expect developers to ramp up supply amid increasing demand and lower rates ahead.

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CEOs of major landlords and developers in Hong Kong say priorities for 2024 include offering tenants new, sustainable services and diversifying portfolios.

Establishing a two-way dialogue between businesses and the recipients of help is crucial for both societal welfare and mitigating talent-related difficulties in the city, Stephen Ng says.

A comprehensive review of Hong Kong’s decade-old anti-speculation property curbs is long overdue, according to developer Wharf. Recent measures are not enough to overturn the current slump, chairman Stephen Ng says.

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Wharf Reic reported a net profit of HK$1.8 billion (US$230 million) for the first half versus a HK$1.5 billion loss a year earlier, but said recovery was ‘impeded by global geopolitical and economic uncertainties’.

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As the Hong Kong-China border reopens, the outlook of the city’s luxury property market seems to be picking up – so how is property heir Douglas Woo’s most recent purchase boosting sentiment?

The developer saw every segment of its operations in Hong Kong and mainland China slow down, with net profit for the year falling 92 per cent amid what the company called ‘weak markets’ and ‘pandemic woes’.

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Revenue declined 17 per cent compared with the first half of 2021, but the company reported a 3 per cent increase in underlying net profit while issuing a cautious outlook.

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Wharf Reic, which is controlled by tycoon Peter Woo Kwong-ching, expects to slip into an interim loss as the value of its investment properties has suffered under poor business conditions.

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Hong Kong-listed Wharf (Holdings) has cut its home sales guidance in mainland China to 9 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion), the lowest in over a decade, amid an uncertain market outlook.

Wharf Real Estate Investment Company (Wharf Reic), which owns the Harbour City and Times Square shopping centres in Hong Kong, said it expected business to be difficult amid Hong Kong’s most serious Covid-19 outbreak yet.

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The supply for luxury homes in Hong Kong’s ultra-exclusive neighbourhood of The Peak is likely to hit its highest level since 2016, after demand spurred sales of mansions and high-end flats in the district by more than double in the 12-month period ending in June, according to Colliers.

Individual and corporate real estate investors from the mainland had been the lifeblood that had sustained the eye-popping prices of Hong Kong’s property industry in the past decade, from multimillion dollar mansions to some of the world’s most expensive offices in marquee addresses in Central.

The sale of the land is also a crucial test of the so-called two envelope approach, which awards the winning bid on the merit of designs, planning and their congruence with the surrounding, in addition to beating the minimum reserve price.

A car parking bay at the exclusive Mount Nicholson development on The Peak fetched over HK$10 million (US$1.3 million), smashing a world record set in 2019.

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Wharf REIC, owner of Times Square and Harbour City luxury malls, says the Covid-19 pandemic might continue to weigh on its retail and hotel operations in Hong Kong this year.

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The five bids for a rare plot of land in Hong Kong’s upmarket The Peak district were in line with expectations and hinted at optimism about the city’s luxury residential market, analysts said.

Wharf (Holdings) has agreed to pay a higher-than-expected HK$12 billion (US$1.5 billion) to become the owner of the first residential land parcel to be sold since 2010 in Hong Kong’s most exclusive housing enclave.

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Months of stand-off between Hong Kong’s commercial landlords and retailers are boiling over amid the city’s worst recession, as negotiations break down and legal actions ensue.

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Hong Kong’s biggest shopping centre requires its tenants to renew their leases for at least 18 months before accepting a one-off rent concession, a dilemma for retailers facing a third wave of coronavirus outbreak.

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