HONG KONG: Bank of East Asia Ltd (BEA) on Friday reported a 33 percent fall in annual profit to its lowest in seven years, meeting analyst estimates, due to slowing loan demand in its main markets of Hong Kong and China as well as a rise in bad loans. Profit fell to HK$3.72 billion ($479.38 million) in 2016, down from HK$5.52 billion in 2015, the bank said in a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. That compared with the HK$3.7 billion average of 10 analyst estimates in a Thomson Reuters poll.
Its impaired loan ratio rose to 1.49 percent as at the end of 2016 from 1.13 percent at the end of 2015. BEA, like several other financial firms, has been hit by regulatory challenges and a slowdown in the Chinese and Hong Kong economies. But unlike other Hong Kong family-owned banks, deteriorating market conditions have not forced its sale. It has, however, been facing pressure from activist shareholder Elliott Management which has been pressing for a sale and which sued the bank last year over a share placement.
