{"id":658188,"date":"2026-05-22T09:27:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T09:27:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/658188\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T09:27:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T09:27:10","slug":"cash-is-king-hong-kong-mainland-chinese-firms-hoard-reserves-as-growth-options-narrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/658188\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Cash is king\u2019: Hong Kong, mainland Chinese firms hoard reserves as growth options narrow"},"content":{"rendered":"

More companies and conglomerates in Hong Kong and mainland China are hoarding cash on their balance sheets \u2013 following the approach of billionaire investor Warren Buffett<\/a>\u2019s investment vehicle \u2013 as returns from mature industries remain steady but modest amid a fragile global economic recovery. The trend has heightened investor focus on whether idle funds will be redeployed into new economy ventures, dividends or buy-backs.<\/p>\n

Cash holdings among Hong Kong- and Shanghai-listed companies most representative of traditional industries \u2013 with core operations rooted in physical, tangible businesses \u2013 have risen from previous reporting periods. This stands in contrast to technology firms, which have been pouring money into artificial intelligence infrastructure build-up.<\/p>\n

Per-share cash and equivalents at the 50 companies on the Shanghai Stock Exchange dividend index climbed 7 per cent year on year to 3,611.31 yuan (US$531) by the end of 2025, according to Bloomberg data. Cosco Shipping Holdings, Guanghui Energy and coal producer Yankuang Energy Group are its biggest constituents.<\/p>\n

The 49 companies on the Hang Seng High Dividend Yield Index reported HK$897.23 (US$114) per share by the first quarter, up 6.2 per cent from the third quarter of last year, the data showed. Its members include Hang Lung Properties, CK Infrastructure and Power Assets Holdings.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn today\u2019s environment \u2013 with China\u2019s recovery still uneven, confidence subdued and private-sector investment appetite weak \u2013 companies are finding fewer productive places to deploy capital,\u201d said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Saxo. \u201cThat makes buy-backs and dividends a more credible use of cash. The market is right to look at cash-rich China- and Hong Kong-listed companies as potential shareholder-return plays, especially where valuations are depressed and policy is pushing companies to lift dividends and buy-backs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CKCK Hutchison says selling its 49 per cent stake in VodafoneThree is expected to generate a gain of about HK$4.7 billion. Photo: Sam TsangIn Hong Kong, CK Hutchison Holdings\u2019 shares climbed to their highest level since 2020 after the conglomerate announced plans to exit the UK mobile market. Investors appear to be betting on another well-timed industry exit by the Li family<\/a>, as concerns grow over the long-term outlook for traditional telecoms businesses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"More companies and conglomerates in Hong Kong and mainland China are hoarding cash on their balance sheets \u2013…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":658189,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[728,28,283593,9074,283594,144,283601,283602,283595,105191,101,283596,5425,283599,283600,17706,283592,4633,283598,283597],"class_list":["post-658188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-berkshire-hathaway","tag-business","tag-buybacks","tag-cash","tag-charu-chanana","tag-china","tag-ck-hutchison-holdings","tag-cosco-shipping-holdings","tag-dai-ming","tag-dividend","tag-economy","tag-hang-seng-high-dividend-yield-index","tag-hong-kong","tag-huichen-asset-management","tag-lorraine-tan","tag-morningstar","tag-old-economy-companies","tag-shanghai","tag-shanghai-stock-exchange","tag-victor-li-tzar-kuoi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=658188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/658189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=658188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=658188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=658188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}