Wharf backs down on assets plan

The plan for the Hong Kong conglomerate The Wharf (Holdings) to have half of its total assets on the mainland may not be achievable in the near future, the company's chairman warned shareholders yesterday.

Peter Woo Kwong-ching, speaking at the company's annual meeting, said that although the property-to-telecommunications conglomerate had been looking at opportunities across the border, "the value of our Hong Kong assets has surged so rapidly that our investment cannot keep up with it."

The listed company's total assets on the mainland are now worth about 100 billion yuan (HK$125 billion), Woo said. This is about one third of its total assets, which had a value of nearly HK$369 billion, according to its 2012 annual report.

Wharf set out a policy in 2007 to raise the proportion of assets in the mainland to 50 per cent over the following five years.

"At that time, 100 billion yuan was about half of our total assets," Woo said. "I think [the situation] now is OK. Should we put another 100 billion yuan in the mainland in the coming year? I think it's impossible."

Asked if Wharf has new development projects on the mainland, he said it had been exploring for opportunities.