Jul. 20, 2012 (China Knowledge) - Cheung Kong Infrastructure Holdings<1038> or CKI, owned by business tycoon Li Ka-shing, announced yesterday that its net profit increased 18% YoY to HK$4.69 billion in the first half of this year, source reported.

The firm has declared an interim dividend of HK$0.4 per share, up 10% from a year earlier.

The company said that the increase in net profit was mainly due to the robust growth in its British business, which contributed HK2.72 billion in net profit, up 45% from a year earlier.

Victor Li, president of Cheung Kong Infrastructure, said that the company has more than HK$8 billion in cash and aims to acquire more projects with high quality.

Power Assets Holdings Ltd<0006>, the smaller of Hong Kong's two electricity suppliers and a member of Cheung Kong Group, realized HK$1.67 billion in net profit in the first half of this year, which accounted for 36% of CKI's total.