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1. Construction of Big Buddha cable car project starts

2. SHKP to raise $5b ahead of land sales

3. Chief Executive addresses International Housing Conference

1. Construction of Big Buddha cable car project starts
CARRIE CHAN, SCMP 3 February 2004

Work has begun on the MTRC's $950 million cable car line from Tung Chung to the Big Buddha at Ngong Ping in the hills of Lantau.

When the route opens in two years, the 7.5km journey will take 20 minutes. The rail operator, which will run the operation under a franchise system, expects to charge passengers $50 one way and $60 for a return trip.

The diamond-shaped cabins will soar to a maximum height of 585 metres and carry an anticipated 1.5 million passengers a year.

The plan last year attracted the opposition of the monastery's supervisor, Sik Chi Wai, who objected to the 1.86-hectare ceremonial ground in front of its temple being turned into a public piazza. Sik Chi Wai was unavailable for comment yesterday.

Daniel Lam Wai-keung, chairman of Islands District Council, who had several meetings with senior monks and the government, said they had still not settled their differences.

"The key point of contention is still the usage right to the ceremonial ground. The monks hope that the place could be kept quiet," he said.

The Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau was not available for comment.

MTRC project manager Roger Bayliss said all the discussions had been handled by the government, but that the company had itself consulted the monks on the design of the system and on the content of the Buddhist interpretative centre at the Ngong Ping terminus.

"We wouldn't want to put up something that contradicts their beliefs," said Mr Bayliss.

The centre will be in a themed village which will also comprise shops, restaurants and a Chinese tea house, as well as the piazza.

Mr Bayliss said the planning of the line had taken environmentalists' concerns into account. A single track will carry both the up and down cables, and there would be only eight support towers in order to minimise the environmental impact, he said. In addition, the towers to be erected within the North Lantau Country Park would be airlifted to the required sites by helicopter.

"We also have to do a stream diversion at Ngong Ping around the village," he said.

But Henry Ho Kin-chung, a spokesman for Friends of the Earth, said he could not see why the stream had to be diverted.

2. SHKP to raise $5b ahead of land sales
Jonathan Tam, The Standard 3 February 2004

Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP), Hong Kong's largest residential developer by market capitalisation, is raising HK$5 billion in bank loans.

The loans, which SHKP is arranging by itself, are made up of a HK$1.5 billion tranche of five-year maturity and a HK$3.5 billion tranche of seven-year maturity, according to debt market newsletter basispoint.

SHKP spokeswoman Brenda Wong confirmed the loan plan but declined to say what it will be used for.

Developers are raising funds to prepare for the resumption of land sales next month, as the property market rebounds from a five-year slump.

Daiwa Institute of Research yesterday raised its property price rise forecast for this year from 14 per cent to 30 per cent due to strong buyer demand.

It said the luxury market may see prices rise by up to 40 per cent.

Henderson Land Development, the territory's No3 developer, raised HK$5.75 billion by selling bonds last month, and analysts said both Sino Land and New World Development, which raised HK$1.2 billion in October from shares placement, would probably tap the equity market soon.

``Developers would want to lock in some low interest rates as they may be raised later this year or early next year,'' ING Financial Markets analyst Eva Lee said. ``Of course, buying land could be one of the options.''

SHKP would pay an all-inclusive margin of 27 basis points over the interbank rates for the five-year tranches and 37 basis points for the seven-year tranche, basispoint said.

That would be lower than the 47 basis points it paid for the seven-year HK$8 billion loan launched in May.

The commitment fee was also reduced to 12.5 basis points in the latest loan from 42 basis points in the previous one.

Bank of China Hong Kong, Bank of Communications, Bank of East Asia, BNP Paribas, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Citigroup, HSBC, Mizuho Corporate Asia and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking are said to be co-ordinating arrangements for the loan.

3. Chief Executive addresses International Housing Conference
Hong Kong Government, 3 February 2004

Following is the speech by the Chief Executive, Mr Tung Chee Hwa, at the opening ceremony of the International Housing Conference 2004 this morning (February 2):

Michael, Dr Renaud, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to extend my warm welcome to all of you to the International Housing Conference 2004. Particularly, I wish those of you who have travelled from far away an enjoyable stay in Hong Kong. 2003 marked the 50th anniversary of public housing development in Hong Kong and this International Housing Conference is the highlight of the many commemorative activities.

As you know, Hong Kong has a population of some 6.8 million people, living within a small geographical area of about 1,100 square kilometres. Out of this small area, only 20% is for development and the rest has been earmarked as country parks or is unsuitable for housing development. So our people have to be housed in even smaller geographical areas. This means Hong Kong has an overall density of about 6,200 people for every square kilometre of land, one of the highest densities in the world. So you can see housing development is a huge challenge for our planners, architects and engineers.

After the Second World War, we had a huge influx of population as well as rapid development of our economy. These factors, together with a limited supply of land, made our housing prices much higher than most other places, so providing subsidised public housing to those people in need has been and continues to be an important task of the Hong Kong Government. Indeed today, out of the over two million households in Hong Kong, about half are living in subsidised public housing.

Since 1973, the Government's effort in providing subsidised public housing has been spearheaded by the Hong Kong Housing Authority. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to those who have contributed their precious time and efforts to the work of the authority. Thanks to your efforts, a vast number of needy people now live in subsidised public housing.

In the very early days of providing subsidised public housing, we provided very basic accommodation to those who were homeless or living in substandard conditions. As time passed by, we started to build more well-designed and self-contained housing estates to meet the needs and rising aspirations of the community.

Since July 1, 1997, the HKSAR Government had made great efforts in realising our goals in the provision of subsidised public housing. We have cleared all the temporary housing areas and cottage areas so that the number of Hong Kong people who live in substandard or overcrowded accommodation now stands at an all-time low. The number of eligible families who are waiting to be housed in public rental units has declined from 150,000 in 1997 to around 90,000 today. During the same period, the average waiting time has fallen from over six years to just over two.

Our efforts in providing subsidised public housing are recognised internationally. We have been specifically commended by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in its 2001 report on Hong Kong. We are indeed very proud of these achievements.

The Government's present public housing policy is to continue to provide a supply of subsidised rental housing for families in need, within an average waiting time of around three years. To achieve this objective, we are examining ways to make the best use of our increasingly scarce resources and identifying new ways of financing our housing programme. One major endeavour is to divest the car parking and retail facilities of the Housing Authority through a public listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. We hope that the listing will be launched within 2004-05. Through this type of innovative approach, we are generating the necessary revenue for subsidised public housing development.

But the challenge we have faced is not just in the subsidised public housing area. In the private sector housing too, we have faced major challenges. The onset of the Asian financial turmoil in 1997 and the subsequent bursting of the asset bubble have seen our property prices fall 70%. This had been a painful experience for home owners and a major factor in the deflationary spiral which has affected Hong Kong over the past five years. With the improving economic climate, we are determined to maintain a stable environment to enable the sustained and healthy development of the property market. Indeed, a healthy property market is essential for the continued recovery of our economy.

We are also committed to protecting and improving our living environment. By making sustainable development a foundation for our future efforts, we are looking at ways to achieve a better living environment, through better urban design and protection of our natural and cultural heritage.

Greater attention will be paid to overall environmental considerations. The lessons we learnt during last year's SARS outbreak have reminded us that much more strenuous efforts must be made to create a living environment that is less crowded, cleaner, healthier and more hygienic for all our residents. Better landscaping, more greenery, and more parks, leisure and recreational amenities need to be provided for the benefit of the whole community.

Also, greater attention is being paid to sustainability and energy-efficiency in our housing development. Innovative new design concepts and construction technologies are being implemented that enable us to build better homes in a smarter and more cost-efficient way.

All these initiatives aim to realise our vision of Hong Kong as "Asia's world city" - a pleasant and healthy environment in which to live, work and do business.

Finally, I wish this conference, the International Housing Conference 2004, every success.

Thank you.