Hong Kong's MTR eyes overseas profit drivers

MTR Corp. Ltd. from China's Hong Kong will seek to enlarge its overseas businesses as the local market has matured, Chairman Frederick Ma Si-hang has said.

Its financial report for last year showed about 5 percent of its HK$9.4 billion  (US$1.21 billion) profit had come from overseas business, according to the Standard, an English daily in Hong Kong, on Monday.

It also suffered a 13.3 percent drop in profit last year.

As the company has already owned close to 50 percent of the franchised public transport market in Hong Kong, room for growing its local business was limited, Ma said.

After a brain-storming session early this year, the board members agreed to expand the firm's business overseas, Ma said.