Accounting rules squeeze HK company profits, says Deloitte
Mark-to-market rules wipe off one-quarter of top 100 profit
Hong Kong’s biggest companies’ profits plunged despite a surge in revenue
last year, and a Deloitte report is pointing the finger at mark-to-market
accounting rules.
The study found that impairment losses of Hong Kong’s top 100 listed
companies by market capitalisation more than doubled to HK$646bn, which
triggered a slide in aggregate net profit of 23% to $143bn in the year to 31
December 2008.
Over the same period, total revenue of these same companies increased by 17%
to HK$9,678bn, the Financial Times reported.