Cathay Group fully repays HKSAR government’s $19.5b investment

The group has also paid the government a total of $2.44b in preference share dividends.

The Cathay Group fully repays the Hong Kong SAR (HKSAR) government’s $19.5b investment.

The group has bought back the remaining 50%, or $9.75b, of the preference shares issued to the government during its 2020 recapitalization. The initial 50% of the preference shares were repurchased by the group in December 2023.

The group’s 2020 recapitalization financing included the issuance of $19.5b preference shares to the government; an $11.7b rights issue of ordinary shares to existing shareholders; and a $7.8b bridge loan facility from the government that expired unused on 8 June 2023.

In addition, the Cathay Group has paid the remaining preference share dividends up to 31 July, bringing the total dividends paid to the government to $2.44b.

In May, the group also made its first dividend payment to ordinary shareholders since 2019, totalling $2.8b.