The net profit decline was caused by higher financing costs, the company said.
As at the end-FY2022, overseas borrowings were mainly denominated in Hong Kong dollars and Singapore dollars with floating interest rates. Due to the changes in the international financial market environment caused by the rise in the US dollar interest rate, SIIC's financing costs of overseas borrowings increased sharply.
In response to the changes in the international financial market in 2023, the company is "optimising" its financing structure by replacing high-interest borrowings with low-interest borrowings and working with banks to obtain lower RMB fixed-rate borrowings.
As at the end-FY2023, overseas RMB fixed-rate loans increased by RMB610 million, and the share of such loans has increased by 10.9%, from 3.7% at the end-FY2022, to 14.6% at the end of 2023.
