Cheung Kong, Hutchison Whampoa Interim Net Profits DownThe two flagship firms of Hong Kong's richest businessman Li Ka Shing, property giant Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited and Telecom conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. announced interim results Thursday with net profits down.After Thursday's stock market close, Cheung Kong's net profit after tax fell 75.8 percent to 4.21 billion Hong Kong dollars (0. 54 billion U.S. dollars) in the six months ending on June 30. Hutchison Whampoa's net profit after tax was 7.193 billion Hong Kong dollars (0.92 billion dollars), down 78.9 percent from last year's 31.13 billion Hong Kong dollars (3.99 billion dollars). The drop in profits was mainly attributed to a prudent 28.1 billion provision made against investment in Vodafone Group and Deutsche Telekom shares. Hutchison Whampoa realized 30 billion Hong Kong dollars (3.85 billion dollars) in profit from the merger of VoiceStream with Deutsche Telekom. Li Ka Shing said at the press conference he was confident about the business of his companies and the long term economic prospects of Hong Kong and the Mainland. |
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