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Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison, CK Asset post first-half earnings increases despite ‘worrisome’ Covid-19 situation in mainland China, Hong Kong

  • Economic activity rebounded in many of the group’s markets during the first half, Chairman Victor Li says
  • CK Hutchison says its net profit for the first six months of 2022 rose 4.3 per cent, while CK Asset posts 55 per cent jump

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A CK Asset Holdings sign at a construction site in Hong Kong. Photo: Bloomberg
CK Hutchison Holdings and CK Asset Holdings, the two flagship companies of Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s richest man, reported increases in their first-half results on Thursday, despite a “worrisome” Covid-19 situation in mainland China and Hong Kong.
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CK Hutchison, the conglomerate with businesses touching almost every aspect of an average Hongkonger’s life, said its net profit for the first six months of 2022 rose 4.3 per cent to HK$19.1 billion (US$2.4 billion), slowing down from a 41 per cent jump in earnings in the first half of 2021.

CK Asset, Hong Kong’s second-largest real estate developer by value, said its first-half profit increased 55 per cent to HK$12.9 billion. Revenue generated from property sales jumped 38 per cent to HK$20.4 billion, including HK$12.7 billion generated from property sales in Hong Kong.

“Economic activity rebounded during the first half in many of the group’s markets, as countries eased or removed pandemic restrictions entirely. However, the Covid-19 situation remained worrisome in Hong Kong and the mainland, with lockdown and movement restrictions affecting the group’s businesses there,” Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, Li Ka-shing’s elder son and chairman of both companies, said in a filing to the Hong Kong exchange by CK Hutchison.

“Barring any unforeseen deterioration in business conditions, or in energy commodity prices, the group is well-positioned to maintain a growth trajectory and deliver solid performance in the second half and the years ahead.”

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The interim results at CK Hutchison and CK Asset come as Hong Kong slips into a recession. The city’s economy shrank by 1.4 per cent in the second quarter of 2022 compared with the same period last year, amid the continued impact of the fifth wave of coronavirus infections. Interest-rate increases by the US Federal Reserve are also likely to affect its economic outlook.
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