CK Asset Holdings Ltd (長江實業), the developer founded by billionaire Li Ka-shing (李嘉誠), postponed a planned sale of condominiums in Hong Kong as political protests made it difficult to market the luxury residences.
The homes at 21 Borrett Road would not be offered for sale as scheduled this month, a spokeswoman for the company said yesterday, confirming an earlier report on RTHK radio.
Marketing a luxury project would be difficult under the social atmosphere and there is no fixed schedule for the sale, CK Asset executive director Justin Chiu (趙國雄) told the station.
The apartments would cost at least HK$100 million (US$12.75 million) each, Chiu told RTHK.
That means CK Asset could generate HK$11.5 billion just for the 115 units in the project’s first phase, scheduled to be completed next month. There are 66 units in the second phase.
CK Asset’s decision adds to signs of economic stress in the territory more than two months after protests started against a proposed extradition bill.
Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd (新鴻基地產) has said that it would delay the sale of its residential project in Kowloon District as consumer sentiment was worsening on the social unrest, the South China Morning Post reported this week.
Images of riot police clashing with protesters at Hong Kong International Airport further dented the territory’s reputation as a stable place to do business during the 11th week of protests.
The escalating stakes have raised fears that China would mobilize forces to restore order, a move that could scare away foreign companies and further erode the financial hub’s autonomy.
The Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong on Thursday last week in a statement condemned the violence and called for peace.
Another appeal published in Chinese-language newspapers was issued on Saturday last week, with cosigners including billionaire Henry Cheng (鄭家純) of New World Development Co (新世界發展).
CK Asset chairman Victor Li (李澤鉅) earlier this month said that the demonstrations were causing potential property buyers to adopt a wait-and-see attitude.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
PRESSURE EXPECTED: The appreciation of the NT dollar reflected expectations that Washington would press Taiwan to boost its currency against the US dollar, dealers said Taiwan’s export-oriented semiconductor and auto part manufacturers are expecting their margins to be affected by large foreign exchange losses as the New Taiwan dollar continued to appreciate sharply against the US dollar yesterday. Among major semiconductor manufacturers, ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光), the world’s largest integrated circuit (IC) packaging and testing services provider, said that whenever the NT dollar rises NT$1 against the greenback, its gross margin is cut by about 1.5 percent. The NT dollar traded as strong as NT$29.59 per US dollar before trimming gains to close NT$0.919, or 2.96 percent, higher at NT$30.145 yesterday in Taipei trading
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