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Hong Kong property
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Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison, CK Asset see first-half earnings plunge as high interest rates weigh on businesses

  • CK Hutchison, with businesses spanning ports and infrastructure to supermarkets, said net profits plunged 41 per cent to HK$11.2 billion
  • Property developer CK Asset said its profits in the six-month period fell 18.9 per cent to HK$10.3 billion

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Flags of CK Hutchison outside the Cheung Kong Centre in Central. The conglomerate said net profits plunged 41 per cent to HK$11.2 billion (US$1.43 billion). Photo: SCMP Pictures
Martin ChoiandSalina Li
CK Hutchison Holdings and CK Asset Holdings, the two flagship companies of Hong Kong’s richest man Li Ka-shing, reported a drop in their first-half earnings, as the high interest rate environment continued to pile pressure on businesses in the city.
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CK Hutchison, the conglomerate with businesses spanning ports and infrastructure to telecommunications and supermarkets, said net profits plunged 41 per cent to HK$11.2 billion (US$1.43 billion).

CK Asset, Li Ka-shing’s flagship property developer, said its profits in the six-month period fell 18.9 per cent to HK$10.3 billion.

Revenue generated from property sales plummeted 60 per cent to HK$8.25 billion, with Hong Kong generating around half of this.

“For the rest of the year, economic conditions are expected to remain challenging with downside risks of higher or more sustained inflation as well as lower growth,” said Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, Li Ka-shing’s elder son and chairman of both companies, in a filing from CK Hutchison to the Hong Kong stock exchange on Thursday afternoon.

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“Consumer and business confidence in particular may continue to soften as the longer term effects of higher interest rates and more constrained credit environments weigh on sentiment.”

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