〈The Standard, Feb 8, 2025〉Swire Properties warned of swing to a net loss of HK$800 million last year, but said this will not undermine its dividend growth capability.
The developer issued a profit warning that it expects to report a net loss the year ending December 2024, compared to a net profit of HK$2.6 billion in 2023.
Swire Properties also expects underlying profit, excluding revalution gains, for the year ending last year to be around HK$6.8 billion, 41 percent lower than one year ago, mainly reflecting the absence in the period of a one-off profit of around HK$3.3 billion from the completion of the sale of nine floors at One Island East in December 2023, as well as lower profits in 2024 from the sale of car parking spaces in Hong Kong.
〈Hong Kong Business, Feb 7, 2025〉Retailers that often have to relocate, upsize or downsize leased spaces are set to benefit from a Hong Kong measure that lets lessees deduct reinstatement costs from their taxable income.
“There are many operators and businesses in Hong Kong that are on leases and there tends to be a fair amount of movement in the leases in the retail and commercial spaces,” Timothy Loh, founder and managing partner at law firm Timothy Loh LLP, told Hong Kong Business.
“Operators of retail shops, perhaps medium-sized enterprises, will definitely get the most benefit from the tax relief under this amendment,” he added.
〈Asian Post, Feb 7, 2025〉The Land Registry logged 4,938 sale and purchase agreements for all building units received for registration in January, down 10.4% month-on-month (MoM) from December 2024 and up 12.2% year-on-year (YoY).
Of the agreements, 3,626 were for, residential units decreasing 11.6% MoM but rising 4.3% YoY.
“Due to [the] Chinese New Year holiday, transaction volume further softened by 11.6% m-o-m to 3,626 units,” Eddie Kwok, executive director of Valuation & Advisory Services at CBRE Hong Kong said.
"We observed developers are preparing to debut more new projects after Chinese New Year. As [the] situation improves, we expect more units changing hands in March especially after [the] government's budget announcement,” Kwok added.
〈Hong Kong Business, Feb 7, 2025〉Hong Kong should offer more “exciting” events at the 28-hectare Kai Tak Sports Park to maximise revenue from sports and music tourism, which is expected to skyrocket to a $11.7t ($1.5t) industry by 2032, analysts said.
The city’s largest stadium, which is set to open on March 1 after delays and cost $30b to build, has only managed to book four events so far, including the Rugby Sevens and Coldplay concerts, according to the Kai Tak Sports Park website.
Andrew Kinloch, managing director at Logie Group Limited, floated the idea of an ice skating show at the 10,000-capacity Kai Tak Arena.
“Is it possible to do something completely new that other existing, albeit older venues, have never been able to offer?” he told Hong Kong Business in a video interview. “I don’t know the answer to that, but someone needs to be out there thinking about how to bring in new, exciting, different events that people will want to come in.”
〈RTHK News, Feb 7, 2025〉Hong Kong's economic growth slowed to 2.5 percent in 2024, officials said on Monday.
The figure matched government forecasts, but was down from the 3.2 percent growth recorded in 2023.
Figures from the Census and Statistics Department showed a relatively faster pace of growth in the last quarter of 2024 – at 2.4 percent year-on-year – compared to 1.9 percent in the third quarter.
Looking ahead, a government spokesperson said the economy is expected to register further growth in 2025, despite heightened uncertainties in the external environment.
