Annual Report 2021

Overall, all of the Group’s businesses continued to be constrained to varying degrees by the influences of such factors as covid-19 pandemic situation, social-distancing rules and the economic atmosphere. The Group has incessantly kept a close watch on the pandemic and swiftly adjusted its strategies and operations accordingly. Every endeavor has been made to initiate new sales models and product categories, including the launch of the Group’s first consumption voucher reward across multiple businesses and pre-sale promotions at eShop. Following a series of marketing initiatives and activities, the hotel & serviced apartments business turned from loss to a profit and the food & beverage business recorded an increase in revenue. The property rental segment saw a slight drop in overall performance attributed to our continued reliefs to certain tenants seriously affected by the pandemic through rent concession or lease restructuring. Revaluation of the relevant properties continued to dip slightly. Outlook Currently, Hong Kong comes under the impact of a rapid spread of variant strains, reversing the hard- to-come-by economic recovery and the slightly-improved business environment last year into a ditch of uncertainties, dragging down the pace of economic recovery. Faced with the recursive nature of the pandemic situation, the Group will, nonetheless, maintain a prudent and positive outlook, and firmly entrench our businesses in addressing to the various challenges. Meanwhile, the Group earnestly seeks various potential investment opportunities, and getting the team ready for business development. Personally, I have unwavering faith in Hong Kong as a resilient and versatile city. With the government support on citywide vaccination and swift implementation of relief measures, I believe that, with a solid foundation, ample resources and a professional team, the Group will swiftly grip the opportunity and stride together with Hong Kong on a recovery path as soon as the pandemic has come under control. Acknowledgement I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Board of Directors for their support and guidance to the Group. On behalf of all the shareholders and the Board of Directors, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the management team and employees for their ongoing contributions to the Group. Lee Ka Shing Chairman and CEO Hong Kong, 18 March 2022 007 Chairman and CEO’s Statement