Sun Hung Kai reports lower profit, is banking on ‘one country, two systems’ amid uncertain global economic outlook
- SHKP reports a lower underlying profit of HK$23.88 billion (US$3.04 billion) for the year ending in June
- Despite uncertainties in the external environment, Hong Kong retains its unique advantages of ‘one country, two systems’, Chairman Raymond Kwok says
Hong Kong’s biggest developer by market capitalisation reported a lower profit for the year ending in June, but said the city continued to offer long-term development opportunities thanks to “one country, two systems”.
The lower profit was attributed mainly to “a decline in profit generated from property sales”, which fell by about 29 per cent to HK$11.29 billion in its latest financial year, SHKP said. Its net rental income also slipped by 4 per cent to HK$18.46 billion.
The developer expects Hong Kong’s economic recovery to be affected by an uncertain global outlook. “The previous year posed significant challenges for the global economy, as businesses grappled with geopolitical risks, trade frictions and high inflation in the West,” Raymond Kwok, SHKP’s chairman and managing director, said in a separate statement.
Moreover, Kwok said, “mainland economy is facing difficulties arising from a grim and complex external environment, insufficient domestic demand and supply-demand issues in the real estate market”.
SHKP’s lower profit came after Hong Kong last year recorded its lowest number of property transactions since 1997, according to data compiled by Midland Realty.