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for. 1.
West Rail land policy under fire 2.
Station projects draw heightened interest 3.
Developers turn up heat on HOS flats 4.
Tiny Ma Wan Island hosts unique SHKP development 5.
Network best route for Linux on laptops 6.
Terminate blacklisted buzz-words
1. West Rail land policy under fire The
government is being urged to change its land policy on West Rail property projects
because it lays itself open to development risk and loss of revenues. The government
offers land at market value, discounting the railway factor, and receives a share
of the profits from future property sales. Granting land at concessionary values
for railway-related property projects is regarded as a subsidy in support of capital-intensive
construction of lines. The government has already injected HK$2.9 billion into
the construction of West Rail by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp (KCRC). Under
the agreement, KCRC acts as the government's property development agent and any
profit from future sales of property on West Rail station sites will go to the
government. Analysts said that by discounting the railway factor, and hence land
values, the government would have to bank on profits from future property sales,
effectively making it a joint-venture development partner. There would be no guarantee
on profits due to development risks. They suggested it would be more straight
forward to charge a market-value land premium by including the railway factor.
However, Deputy Director of Lands John Corrigall said the policy on assessing
land premium for property developments along yet-to-be completed railways was
to exclude the railway factor. He agreed land value for some property developments,
especially those in rural areas, could substantially increase when the West Rail
was completed because their accessibility would be enhanced. "Sometimes it
is a bit difficult to assess [the land value] in a completely objective way,"
he said. Wharf (Holdings) assistant director Ricky Wong Kwong-yiu said the Lands
Department should not discount the railway factor when assessing the West Rail
project land premium because the government had already put capital into the construction
of the railway. "It is different from Tseung Kwan O railway extension and
Ma On Shan Rail, where the construction costs are solely borne by the railway
corporations," he said. He said the government should charge full land value
on West Rail property projects and avoid bearing the market risk along with the
developers. "With land premium concessions, developers theoretically will
offer more [to the government] if the market sentiment is good and the profit
margin is high. In that case, however, the government will place itself in a passive
role," he said. KCRC property director Daniel Lam said the corporation would
act as an agent of the government rather than a joint-venture partner with the
developers: "The development profits will go to the government but KCRC might
be able to share some if the margin exceeds a certain amount." Mr Lam said
the tender format had yet to be finalised and it could be different to that adopted
with the Mass Transit Railway Corp. Surpass Property Strategy Consultant managing
director Charles Lai Chin-pang said developers would be encouraged to bid for
rural sites because the discount on land premium was greater. The land premium
to be charged in Tuen Mun and Yuen Long could be as low as HK$300 to HK$400 per
square foot, he said. Existing flat prices had declined to HK$1,200 to HK$1,500
per sq ft. He expected the premium charge for the urban sites, such as the Nam
Cheong Station, could exceed HK$1,300 per sq ft, considering flat prices in West
Kowloon were HK$3,200 per sq ft. 
[Source:
SCMP, 21 August 2002]
2. Station projects draw heightened interest Developers
with different priorities are showing strong early interest in West Rail projects.
Cheung Kong executive director Justin Chiu Kwok-hung said the group was interested
in two property developments in the New Territories along the line. He declined
to pinpoint which two stations Cheung Kong was after. The company has accumulated
10.36 million square feet of agricultural land in Yuen Long, pending planning
approval and conversion of land use. Nan Fung Development project director Donald
Choi said the company would make relatively cautious bids for the New Territories
projects due to the absence of a proven market. He said the residential development
market in Yuen Long was dominated by Cheung Kong and Sun Hung Kai Properties.
Newcomers without a solid presence might not be able to compete. Nan Fung would
be more interested in the two urban projects at Tsuen Wan West Station and Nam
Cheong Station. He expected the land premium charge for Tsuen Wan would be less
than HK$1,000 per square foot, with Nam Cheong slightly higher than HK$1,500 per
sq ft. Kowloon-Canton Railway Corp property director Daniel Lam said three West
Rail projects could be tendered for sale by mid-2003: "Tsuen Wan West Bayside
will be the first. It is pending land premium settlement and I expect it can be
tendered by this year." KCRC has received expressions of interest from 13
developers for the 2.59 million sq ft property development at Tsuen Wan West Bayside.
The project is expected to cost more than HK$5 billion. The site, on 4.27 hectares
of reclaimed land, will provide 10 blocks with 2,830 units. Tsuen Wan West Station
has three other sites for development - including TW5 Cityside, TW6 and TW7 -
with a total developable area of 2.75 million square feet. Property developments
at Nam Cheong Station in Shamshuipo and Yuen Long Station could be tendered for
sale by the middle of next year, pending land grant and premium settlements. The
Nam Cheong Station will comprise 10 high-rise blocks and nine mid-rise towers
with a total of 3,933 units. Mr Lam said that Nam Cheong Station had secured a
maximum buildable area of 3.97 million square feet, including 448,000 square feet
of office space which could be converted to other uses. Yuen Long Station near
Sun Yuen Long Centre can provide 2,214 residential units with a total floor area
of 1.73 million square feet. The 30.5-kilometre West Rail linking Shamshuipo with
Tuen Mun is scheduled to be operational next year. Property projects at nine stations
will produce about 30,000 flats. 
[Source:
SCMP, 21 August 2002]
3. Developers turn up heat on HOS flats Developers
are increasing the pressure on the government to review the number of Home Ownership
Scheme (HOS) flats on the market. They have urged the phasing-out and ultimate
scrapping of the scheme and now Cheung Kong (Holdings) has taken steps to entice
would-be buyers and existing owners of HOS flats from the Housing Authority to
buy its new flats. Methods used include attractive pricing, favourable payment
terms and all kinds of sweeteners. Do such actions imply an underlying message
to the government that the HOS is not worth keeping or are they just desperate
marketing tactics? John Hui Wing-to, president of the Hong Kong Institute of Real
Estate Administration, said Cheung Kong was using both words and actions to convey
its message to the government. "They are speaking and acting at the same
time. Developers in general would like to see government review HOS supplies.
I think that is understandable, as we have a confidence crisis in the property
market." In a high-profile attempt to compete with the Housing Authority,
Cheung Kong offered special registration fee-exempt and cash bonus sweeteners
to buyers switching from newly launched HOS flats or other private projects to
its Banyan Garden phase two in Cheung Sha Wan. The company has announced more
preferential packages each worth up to HK$400,000 aimed at enticing HOS owners
of less than two years. They range from cash rebate, more payment-term concessions
to free accommodation at a Cheung Kong-owned hotel prior to Banyan Garden's completion.
Under existing rules governing the sale and transfer of HOS flats, owners of less
than two years are entitled to sell them back to the Authority at the original
purchase price. However, Insignia Brooke consultant Nicholas Brooke said: "It
is just a case of [developers] scrambling for customers in a challenging marketing
environment. "But the government may not be comfortable with the [high-profile]
approach, as this will undermine its HOS policy. So developers may be sending
out a wrong message." Mr Brooke believes that even if developers intended
to apply pressure to change the revised HOS policy announced in June, they would
not succeed as the government would be reluctant to change direction so soon.
He said any such attempt would only be counter-productive. "It is never advisable
to force government into a corner. I don't think the government will change its
direction," Chief Secretary Donald Tsang Yam-kuen had announced a cut in
HOS flats supply to 5,000 units in 2002-2003 and to 2,000 a year from 2006 onwards.
Further pressure appeared to be gathering momentum from developers for an eventual
phase-out of HOS. Adding weight was the cool response to the latest HOS flat sale,
which fetched a record low of 5,117 applications for the 2,451 units available.
Rising unemployment and a frail economy had deterred would-be buyers, according
to the Housing Authority. Cheung Kong executive director Justin Chiu Kwok-hung
said the HOS had already fulfilled its mission and the government should review
the need for continuing to build HOS flats. Sun Hung Kai Properties vice-chairman
Thomas Kwok Ping-kwong said recently the government should gradually phase out
HOS flat building rather than end it abruptly. He said the scheme had served its
purpose and government should now concentrate on building public rental housing
for the needy and providing loans to low-income groups who wish to own their flats.
K Wah International chairman Lui Che-woo reiterated his position that the government
should stop building HOS flats. However, Housing Authority member Michael Choi
Ngai-min said he did not feel developers were applying pressure on the government.
"Competition is very fierce in the private sector. Developers have to do
all in their power to win over buyers. It is a free market and all players are
on a level playing field," Mr Choi said. "Their pricing and sweeteners
tactics are for the purpose of getting an edge over their competitors. This reflects
how poor market conditions are." Mr Choi said the HOS still had its role
to play in the long term. "I think the present HOS mechanism should be retained
as it was designed at the outset to help the needy. Demand is weak under the present
depressed economic conditions but demand varies with the times." Despite
developers' claims that the pricing of their newly launched projects was close
to that of HOS flats on sale, the actual price to be paid by HOS buyers for the
latest batch of units after the 30 per cent discount to market value - to which
they are entitled - ranges from about HK$1,700 to HK$1,900 per square foot. They
are below the launching prices of private projects Park Island, at HK$2,250 per
square foot and of Banyan Garden at HK$2,448 per square foot. Those prices applied
only to initial batches, of a couple of dozens units, and could be raised at will
by developers for subsequent batches. Mr Hui said: "The government need not
be influenced by developers' pressure. It should look at the issue from the standpoint
of market demand for HOS flats. "I think for the long term the mechanism
should be kept but the government may need to alter its supply strategy in accordance
with market conditions." [Source:
SCMP, 21 August 2002]
4. Tiny Ma Wan Island hosts unique SHKP development Park
Island has emerged as an unusually huge residential development taking shape on
tiny Ma Wan Island, straddled by the Tsing Ma Bridge. "Park Island is the
most unique project with which others cannot be compared," said Sun Hung
Kai Real Estate Agency executive director Victor Lui Ting. Sun Hung Kai Properties
(SHKP) has spent nearly a decade exploring environmental protection concepts in
developing Ma Wan, originally an isolated island between Tsing Yi and Lantau Island.
Park Island spans 21.32 hectares in the northeast of the island. SHKP had secured
a gross developable area of up to 3.65 million square feet, including 86,000 sq
ft of commercial space. Upon completion, a maximum of 5,100 residential units
can be provided, accommodating 12,000 residents. Phase one, comprising 15 blocks
of 17 to 25 storeys, and providing 2,569 units of 450 sq ft to 1,650 sq ft, is
due to be finished by the end of the year. Despite the relatively large residential
development, the projected population in Ma Wan did not justify the need for community
facilities such as a hospital and food market, according to Planning Department.
Park Island, connected by two small access roads with the Tsing Ma Bridge, will
be vehicle-free, although there will be access for emergency vehicles. Ferry services
to Central and a shuttle bus to Tsing Yi MTR station are planned, with further
sea and land routes under consideration. SHKP plans a three million sq ft theme
park on the south of the island. Mr Lui said the site, comprising Central Ecological
Park, Restyled Multi-cultural Village and Activity and Exhibition Area, was due
to be completed by 2005. Phase one comprises a mixture of flat sizes from studios
to four-bedroom units. SHKP sold 770 units allocated for internal sale at an average
HK$3,000 to HK$3,500 per square foot early this month. The remaining units will
be released for public sale on Saturday. The first batch of 26 public sale units
are priced at HK$2,250 per sq ft, with cash payment carrying a 3 per cent discount.
The cheapest unit is HK$970,000; others are more than HK$1 million. Prices vary
greatly depending on view and orientation. A first-floor unit with a sea-view
is more than HK$2,700 per sq ft, while a nearby unit with a school view is discounted
by 30 per cent to less than HK$2,000 per sq ft. A resort clubhouse, as well as
yacht and spa facilities to be managed by Banyan Tree Resorts, is a major attraction.
A kindergarten, primary school and an English secondary school are planned. [Source:
SCMP, 21 August 2002]
5. Network best route for Linux on laptops It
seems appropriate that we should look at Linux in the week following the highly
publicised LinuxWorld. Installation of this alternative operating system has become
much easier over the years but it does lag behind the latest technology. The problem
here is that it takes time to write the necessary code to support developments.
Several people have asked me about the new Sony Vaios such as the VX88, the 14-inch
notebook that comes with no floppy disk and a CD-Rom that connects through FireWire
(called iLink by Sony and IEEE 1394 by everybody else). The greatest frustration
comes with the CD-Rom drive. It will boot a Linux disk and then promptly tell
you that it cannot find the CD-Rom drive where the installation disk is. This
complex little problem comes because the proper driver is not available or not
installed. Until the Red Hats, SuSEs, Mandrakes and others build these things
into the installation process, you will have to try something else. The simplest
is almost certainly a network installation. Assuming you want to use a Linux notebook
because you already have a Linux desktop - possibly a silly assumption but most
people fooling about with Linux have it running somewhere - you will be installing
over a network. You need to make certain the CD-Rom disk - or even better, the
DVD-Rom disc if you are installing SuSE - is available to everybody on the network.
A search on Red Hat and SuSE to see what they say reveals interesting results.
Red Hat has a section devoted to network installation that should not be too difficult
to follow if you have "basic skills". What this means simply is if you
know how to mount a CD-Rom and put something into a directory that can be exported
on the network, you may be able to do it yourself. If none of this makes any sense
to you, I suggest you find a friend who is a Linux boffin, reach for the cheque
book, take him out to his favourite restaurant and then ask for help. If you insist
on this method, there are instructions at www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-7.3-Manual/install-guide/s1-x86-begininstallnet.html.
It is always worth having a look at www.linux-on-laptops.com
but a recent search found nothing in particular. There are other possibilities.
The easiest is to wait for the main Linux distributions to support FireWire. Another,
more dangerous, way would be to remove the 2.5-inch hard disk, pop it into another
machine, install a basic system on it and then pop it back into the notebook.
This may not be for the faint of heart. [Source:
SCMP, 21 August 2002]
6. Terminate blacklisted buzz-words "Excuse
me but 'proactive' and 'paradigm': aren't these just buzz-words that dumb people
use to sound important? Not that I'm accusing you of anything like that. I'm fired,
aren't I?" So asks a writer in the Simpsons cartoon series. Buzz-words have
been de rigueur in the new economy, contaminating public relations pitches, press
releases and office "conversation". If you feel that every brush with
this kind of vacuous verbiage robs your life of another smidgeon of meaning, you
may agree that it is time for the enlightened to impose zero tolerance. This could
be accomplished through boiling alive anyone who even thinks about using a blacklisted
hip word-phrase. A slightly less cruel solution would be to rig up the miscreant's
browser so that the only Web sites accessible are those devoted to celebrity gossip.
An even cooler and already immensely popular solution is to play a game which
makes only minimal demands on the contestant's mental muscles yet has been called
"the next best thing to caffeine" - buzz-word bingo. The setting: any
meeting. The rules: each contestant is given a card inscribed with a list of buzz-words
he or she must cross out as they crop up during discussion. The first person to
cross out five buzz-words in a row on their list wins. Bingo! Or rather, inner
glow of triumph. Yell the "b" word at your own risk. Beware assuming
that someone above you will appreciate learning that their pet phrase inspires
more scorn than awe. Granted, some fashionable terms are vivid, succinct and amusing.
Take "cube farm": a Dilbert-style office filled with cubicles or pods
(see also "pod palace"). But mostly they suck, being trite, overused
and meaningless. Why therefore would anyone choose to use them? Because this helps
executives achieve their chief communication goal, which is mystification. If
you doubt this, just glance at the latest report on your desk. Now that we have
buzz-word bingo, even those at the top of the digital ladder can no longer count
themselves secure from its semantic spleen. In 1996, pranksters at the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology handed out buzz-word bingo cards for the commencement
address by then vice-president Al Gore, who relishes talking about the future,
the information superhighway, emerging technologies and so on. Apparently alerted
to the joke, Mr Gore handled it well, asking: "Did I hit a buzz-word?"
when students cheered him for saying "paradigm". Nobody knows for sure
who invented the game. Tom Davis, a founder of the California company Silicon
Graphics (now SGI) usually gets the credit. One day in 1993 he was sitting in
the office of a friend who had scrawled some corporate claptrap on his blackboard.
Suddenly, inspiration struck. Mr Davis decided to devise a computer program which
would generate bingo cards filled with the jargon he had seen, along with motivational
cliches such as "Step up to it". Coining the name "buzz-word bingo",
he passed the cards along to colleagues with a note written in the spirit of the
new game: "The ball's in your court." Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams
later ran with it, featuring the game repeatedly. Why not take part? In the time
it takes to say "win-win", you could be the vector of a new paradigm
as proactive team players leverage innovative e-services and iterate user-centric
architectures, re-engineering the learning curve framework of your dotted-line
relationship. [Source:
SCMP, 21 August 2002] |  |
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