Billionaire Cheng family's New World Development terminates Hong Kong airport mall project, booking $2.3B losses

The firm, controlled by the city's billionaire Cheng family, said in a filing on Wednesday that it will surrender the 11 SKIES shopping mall project to the Hong Kong Airport on April 1, 2027, and provide works and services worth up to HK$1.1 billion for free.

The company logged a net loss of HK$18.3 billion from the termination, including impairment losses of HK$14.7 billion and early termination charges of HK$2.3 billion.

The 11 Skies mall. Photo from Google Maps

The termination charges pushed up ⁠New World's net loss to HK$28.1 billion for the financial year ended June, from a net loss of HK$16.3 billion in the previous year.

Excluding non-cash losses, New World ⁠posted core profit of HK$2.2 billion, its first in three years.

CEO Echo Huang said the 11 SKIES charges resolved a major issue and ⁠that cash flow should improve significantly in the first half of fiscal 2026/27.

The Hong Kong property developer, the most heavily indebted among its local peers, has been trying to cut debt, dispose of assets and bolster liquidity amid tight credit conditions and a weak property market.

New World also said on Wednesday that its cash crunch had eased further after expanding a loan facility by around HK$1 billion.

In a separate filing, it said its loan facility with Deutsche Bank was increased to HK$4.9 billion from HK$3.95 billion committed in June.