Tycoon Li Ka-shing is continuing to buy shares in his flagship property company to show his confidence in the business after the developer successfully bid for a land plot in Hong Kong to build private residential units and subsidized flats.
A wholly-owned subsidiary of Li Ka Shing (Global) Foundation acquired a total of 8.089 million shares in CK Asset Holdings at the average price of HK$46.9298, HK$47.8513, HK$47.4945 and HK$47.1048 per share on May 15, May 18, May 19 and May 20, respectively, a spokesman for CK Asset said on Thursday.
As a result, under the Securities and Futures Ordinance, the deemed interests of CK Asset senior adviser Li Ka-shing in CK Asset will increase from 34.7 percent to 34.92 percent. Company chairman Victor Li Tzar-kuoi said these deemed interests would increase from 34.77 percent to 34.99 percent.
CK Asset on Tuesday has won a tender to develop the city’s first residential project combining private and government-subsidized homes in a land parcel in the Kwun Tong area at a premium of HK$4.95 billion ($638.8 million). This is the first parcel of land CK Asset has won at tender since the third phase of the MTR’s Wong Chuk Hang station development in August 2018.
This comes a week after the government canceled a commercial land sale on a plot at Hong Kong’s former airport at Kai Tak, after all four bids submitted fell below the auction's reserve price.
“Every business and sector around the world is suffering in the current environment,” said Victor Li, Li Ka-shing’s oldest son, who hosted an annual general meeting of listed flagships CK Asset and CK Hutchison Holdings in mid-May.
The company cited lower property sales and a negative contribution from its hotels division, as well as the temporary closure of its public bars in the United Kingdom in the first quarter. It said this could “result in a material reduction to the group’s profit attributable to shareholders” for the six months ending June 30 if such a performance continues into the second quarter.
The flagship developer's share price dropped 8.38 percent to close at HK$42.6 per share on Friday.
