Founded in 1970, the company’s investments span residential developments, shopping malls, offices and hotels and, as such, can be viewed as a proxy for the economic health of Hong Kong.
The special administrative region has been in and out of recession since the pandemic, a period during which Beijing seized greater control over Hong Kong by pushing through a controversial security law.
The power grab has had a chilling effect on civic society, with pro-democracy campaigners forced into exile. Many Western businesses have been pulling back from Hong Kong as a result.
Investment has also suffered. Writing in the Financial Times earlier this year, former Morgan Stanley Asia chairman Stephen Roach said: “It pains me to admit it, but Hong Kong is now over,” in reference to the region’s Hang Seng stock market.
The area’s property market has also been hit by the extended slowdown in the mainland economy. China’s property sector has been in the doldrums since 2021 when the government brought in rules restricting the amount developers could borrow.
The tougher rules triggered a crisis in the debt-laden sector, with some of the largest developers defaulting on their debts. The most prominent was Evergrande, which was forced into liquidation earlier this year after amassing a HK$328bn debt pile.