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Hang Lung repatriates $3b in light of tax exemption

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Sandy Li

Hang Lung Development has repatriated nearly $3 billion of its offshore deposits after the Government proposed exempting interest income on local deposits from profit tax.

The move comes after Lee Shau-kee's Henderson Land group and Li Ka-shing's Cheung Kong (Holdings) empire shifted more than $13 billion back to Hong Kong.

Hang Lung chairman Ronnie Chan Chi-chung said repatriating deposits would help ease the credit crunch and demonstrated the firm's confidence in Hong Kong's future.

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Mr Chan refused to comment on the legal dispute with Sino Land and its then subsidiary, Mariner International Hotels, over the sale of a Tsuen Wan hotel development for $1.07 billion.

Sino Land claimed Hang Lung acted in breach of the contract that included the 'fundamental obligations' of proving good title to the property and developing a hotel on a site in Tsuen Wan.

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Mr Chan said the company had booked $40 million, part of the $321 million deposit received in the deal, in its accounts last year.

Mr Chan expressed support for the Government's land-sale freeze despite the company missing opportunities to acquire land at bargain prices.

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