No need for spin-off, Hopewell says
Despite core profit drop, firm says it can finance Wan Chai project internally and with bank loans
Property and infrastructure conglomerate Hopewell Holdings had no immediate plans to revive a proposal to spin off its property unit, as it had sufficient capital to finance the development of its hotel-office-retail project in Wan Chai, managing director Thomas Jefferson Wu said.
"As the revival of the spin-off will be largely driven by market conditions and not a need to raise funds, we do not have an urgent need to proceed if there is a big increase in volatility," Wu said after announcing the group's full-year results yesterday.
In June, the firm deferred a plan to seek a separate listing for Hopewell Hong Kong Properties when the stock market fell sharply amid renewed worries over property tightening measures on the mainland.
Hopewell was looking to raise about HK$5 billion to help finance its development in Wan Chai.
The initial development stage of Hopewell Centre II will now require capital expenditure for next year and 2015 of about HK$750 million, Wu said yesterday, and this could be financed from internal resources and by bank borrowings.
The 55-floor tower, due to open in 2019, will have a total gross floor area of 1.1 million square feet.