HONG KONG, Sept 26, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - Share trading in property giant New World Development was suspended in Hong Kong on Thursday ahead of its earnings release later in the day amid reports its chief executive will step down and it will post its first loss in two decades.

"At the request of (New World Development Company Limited), trading ... has been halted with effect from 9:00 am on Thursday, 26 September 2024, pending the release of announcements in relation to certain inside information of the Company," a filing at the Hong Kong stock exchange said.

Trade in department store unit New World Department Store China was also halted.

The firm, one of Hong Kong's largest developers, is due to release its earnings later Thursday, with Bloomberg reporting that CEO Adrian Cheng would step down owing to it recording a HK$20 billion (US$2.6 billion) loss, which it said was the first in two decades.

New World's shares have fallen by about a third since the turn of the year as Hong Kong suffers the longest property market downturn since the SARS pandemic in 2003.

The city has lost at least HK$2.1 trillion since 2019, according to a Bloomberg Intelligence analysis in June.

Cheng was previously regarded as an heir apparent of Hong Kong's third-richest family, which is worth an estimated US$22.1 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

He joined the board of New World Development in 2007 as its executive director and was appointed its CEO in 2020, when the company's revenues slumped by nearly a quarter mid-year to mid-year.

The business empire -- overseen by patriarch Henry Cheng -- spans property, jewellery, department stores and logistics.

The property arm is the largest unit, controlling HK$470.2 billion in assets by the end of 2023.