Insight Viewpoint | The Digital Game of the "Hong Kong Version of Temasek"

SighingCashier · 2026-03-30T02:09:22+00:00

Last year, in the article "Reverse Dissection of Hong Kong Investment Company's 'Account Book'," it was pointed out that the investment income claimed in Hong Kong Investment Company's 2024 annual report led the public to believe that the company has a keen eye for investments, with a return rate of 18.5%, outperforming "The Oracle of Omaha" Warren Buffett's flagship Berkshire Hathaway.Since then, Hong Kong Investment Company has become more restrained, at least not daring to boast excessively about its investment income. However, their penchant for manipulating figures remains unchanged. Recently, CEO Chen Jiaqi mentioned in a speech that "since its establishment at the end of 2022... 2024 is our first fully operational year, and we have already recorded positive investment income. To date, our investment portfolio's internal rate of return (IRR) is double digits... For every dollar we invest, we have successfully leveraged the market’s long-term capital to generate 8 dollars of investment."Personally, I estimate that the so-called "double-digit IRR" claimed by Hong Kong Investment Company is based on idle funds being...

SighingCashier

2026-03-30 02:09:22

This column’s year-end article last year, “A Reverse Breakdown of Hong Kong Investment Company’s ‘Number Books,’” pointed out the investment income claimed in Hong Kong Investment Company’s 2024 annual report—leading outsiders to believe the company has keen insight and a return on investment as high as 18.5%, outperforming “the stock guru” Buffett’s investment flagship Berkshire Hathaway.

After that, Hong Kong Investment Company has toned things down considerably; at least it no longer dares to overpraise its investment income. However, its inclination to play with numbers never dies. Recently, in a speech, Chief Executive Officer Chan Ka-kei mentioned that “from the end of 2022, when we were established, up to now… 2024 is our first full year of operations, and we already recorded positive investment income that year. As of now, the internal rate of return (IRR) of our investment portfolio is in double digits… For every dollar we invest, we have successfully leveraged the market’s long-term capital worth eight dollars’ worth of investment.”

Personally, I estimate that Hong Kong Investment Company’s so-called “double-digit IRR” treats the dividends obtained from idle funds as cash inflows into its own investment portfolio, while the idle funds themselves are not counted within the investment portfolio. With the return and timing unchanged but the investment amount reduced substantially, it can easily meet the target.

Ning Sijuan Si Jia Investments

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