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Defiant flat owners may be evicted 2.
MTR Corp tipped to postpone new issue 3.
MTRC wins $1b concession
1. Defiant flat owners may be evicted The
Urban Renewal Authority (URA) yesterday applied for government approval to evict
flat owners from properties in three redevelopment projects, despite still being
in talks with some of them. By the 5pm deadline yesterday, 199 of 416 flat owners
had accepted compensation for quitting their properties in Wan Chai, Tai Kok Tsui
and Sham Shui Po, the authority's district development director, Stephen Ng. said.
``We are happy with the progress and we hope to achieve better results in the
coming few weeks,'' he said. Less than 200 owners are still in talks with the
URA after yesterday's deadline, while dozens of owners protested outside the authority's
Central office, demanding that the deadline be extended. Although Ng said these
owners were still entitled to a bonus of HK$105,000 - initially offered to those
meeting the deadline - the authority ruled out setting another fixed deadline
for all cases. ``Each case will be dealt with individually. But most cases are
to be settled within three weeks,'' he said. Disputes would be resolved with the
help of surveyors, legislators and social workers. Another 30 property owners,
including seven who resided outside Hong Kong or had died, failed to respond or
refused to accept the cash offer. The URA applied to evict owners under the Land
Resumption Ordinance should they fail to surrender their flats and hinder redevelopment
plans. ``We've already applied for the ordinance [to be applied], and the government
will consider it very quickly,'' Ng said, but gave no details on when the government
was expected to approve the application. Owners losing their properties to the
authority under the ordinance would forfeit the cash bonus of HK$105,000. [Source:
Hong Kong iMail, 29 May 2002] 2.
MTR Corp tipped to postpone new issue
The MTR Corporation (MTR Corp) is expected to unload its second batch of shares
in November rather than next month, after reports that it has missed out on the
construction and management rights to the Sha Tin-to-Central rail link. The government
said in its last financial budget that the second batch of MTR Corp shares would
be sold in the 2002-03 fiscal year. MTR Corp stocks have dipped recently on speculation
that rival Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) is poised to win the contract
for the HK$35 billion Sha Tin-to-Central railway line - which includes a fourth
harbour crossing. The link is expected to generate about HK$1.6 billion in annual
fares. It has been widely reported that the government has decided to grant the
construction and management rights of the line to KCRC, but a probe into its decision
to pay an extra HK$1.63 billion to its West Rail contractors has delayed the announcement.
Acting Secretary for Transport Paul Tang confirmed in the Legislative Council
earlier this month that the government would wait till after the inquiry ended
before announcing its decision. The inquiry report was issued on May 16. Tang
said its findings would have no bearing on whether the government decided to appoint
the KCRC. A government spokesman meanwhile said there was no precise timetable
on the release of the next issue of MTR Corp stocks. ``It depends on many factors
including the local economy, the stock market and the overseas market,'' he said.
Even if the MTR Corp misses the contract, sources believe that when the announcement
is made it will at least have an indication of its future, creating a more stable
environment. As no announcement is pending on the tunnel, MTR Corp stocks almost
certainly will not be sold next month and may be delayed till early September.
Sun Hung Kai Investment Services vice-president Edmond Lee said a decision on
the rail tunnel was not as important to any MTR Corp share sale as the economy.
``The management rights are simply an excuse for the market to push down the stock
price,'' Lee said. ``The MTR Corp's stock performance will be vastly affected
by property stocks, which, it is anticipated, will rebound in the second half
of the year.'' But he also agreed with local reports that an MTR Corp share sale
would meet challenges from possible spin-offs from the Bank of China and Standard
Chartered Bank. It is understood that the announcement on the new tunnel's management
rights will not be formalised till a new minister is appointed to the Transport
Bureau next month. MTR Corp shares dropped 1.28 per cent to close at HK$11.55
yesterday. [Source:
Hong Kong iMail, 29 May 2002] 3.
MTRC wins $1b concession
The Government has agreed to bear construction costs of up to HK$1 billion for
public facilities at Mass Transit Railway Corp's (MTRC) Dream City development
in Tseung Kwan O. The MTRC has spent three years struggling to gain government
concessions that would exempt the railway company from shouldering the costs of
associated government, institution and community (GIC) facilities in the massive
real-estate project at the Tseung Kwan O extension's proposed depot in Area 86.
Lands Department deputy director John Corrigall confirmed an agreement had been
reached in principle with the MTRC to settle the terms of land grants for the
project. He said the Government would take into account the cost of building schools
for future use when assessing land premiums. The Government normally requires
developers undertaking projects on sites earmarked for comprehensive development
areas (CDAs) to bear the costs of building the affiliated public facilities. However,
such costs are not taken into account when the Government assesses land premiums
for the sites. MTRC has proposed to develop a 32.2-hectare CDA site in Area 86
into a Dream City - the largest comprehensive development in Hong Kong - providing
17.35 million square feet or 21,500 flats in 50 residential blocks to accommodate
60,000 people. It will include a retail area of about 430,000 sq ft. The whole
development will be divided into 14 phases to be built over the next decade. MTRC
property director Thomas Ho Hang-kwong said earlier this month that the firm would
begin the tender of the Dream City development in the first quarter of next year.
Under the planning proposal, certain GIC facilities including seven schools, community
centres and two public transport interchanges have to be incorporated into the
development. Sources said the MTRC had spent three years in negotiations with
the Government over the waiving of the construction costs for the facilities.
"Recently the Government had agreed in principle it would be responsible
for the cost of seven schools," said one source. Surveyors estimated the
construction cost of the schools amounted to HK$1 billion, given each was worth
about HK$150 million. The cost concessions should increase the appeal of the development
to developers, analysts said. Mr Corrigall declined to reveal the exact amount
of money the MTRC could save but said it would be "not a small amount".
"Under certain circumstances, costs can be claimed if the Government agrees
the facilities will serve a wider community," he said. In the Tseung Kwan
O case, he said, the Government would take into account the cost of building the
schools as they would be turned over to the Government on completion. However,
he said the building costs could not be deducted directly when charging land premiums.
It could not be claimed unless construction of the schools had been completed
in accordance with the Government's requirements, he said. The construction costs
would be taken into consideration when assessing the land premium but it would
not be a reimbursement, Mr Corrigall said. He said the Lands Department would
devise a mechanism for returning the constructions costs to the MTRC. The Government
could not exempt MTRC from all of the construction costs when calculating the
land premium because the schedule for school construction depended on MTRC's decision
on proceeding with the development, he said. Sources said the Government would
only pay the developers after the schools were completed and it had conducted
its own valuations of costs. "The Government will take an active role to
decide how many schools should be built and how much each will cost," the
source said. The final payout could be much lower than HK$1 billion as the number
of schools built depended on population growth. Mr Corrigall said the cost for
GIC facilities could not be claimed if the project was approved under a planning
consent. That means a developer would have to shoulder the costs of public facilities
if they were proposed as a prerequisite to secure planning approval for the development.
Gold Rich Consultants director Francis Lau Tak said the Government could make
concessions during a sluggish market in order to encourage developers to proceed
on lease modifications of certain large-scale developments. MTRC is now negotiating
with the Government on a land premium of more than HK$1 billion payable for a
1.53 million sq ft residential and retail development at Hang Hau Station along
the Tseung Kwan O extension. The project, which provides 2,133 units in six blocks,
is expected to be offered for tender next month. The company has another 2.69
million sq ft residential and retail project in Tiu Keng Leng Station, including
3,519 units in nine blocks, to tender at a later date. [Source:
SCMP, 29 May 2002] |  |
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