Hong Kong’s New World Development says business operations are ‘as usual’

(Reuters) – Hong Kong-based property developer New World Development said on Thursday that it continues to carry on business as usual, following “media rumours” about its operations and financial obligations.

Earlier this week, the company had issued a clarification that it did not start discussions with creditors regarding a proposal to restructure its existing debt, following market speculations.

The company said it was aware of market rumours and speculations in relation to its operations, and that it was continuing to engage with its stakeholders.

New World Development, which has the highest debt among its Hong Kong peers, said it refinanced about HK$17.76 billion ($2.28 billion) of its bank loans since July 2024.

However, this is only a fraction of the HK$199 billion debt it held, as per JPMorgan data from July 2024.

The property developer has also been facing executive governance issues, with its former CEO Adrian Cheng of the group’s founding Cheng family stepping down in September.

Cheng was replaced by Eric Ma, who in turn was replaced just two months later by Echo Huang – an executive director of the company and CEO of New World China Land since 2020.

($1 = 7.7898 Hong Kong dollars)