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1. Nathan Road business fears as section closes for 2 years

2. Moribund PC market hails Tablet's entry

3. Call to scrap HOS buy-backs

1. Nathan Road business fears as section closes for 2 years
FELIX CHAN, SCMP Sep 13, 2002

Part of Nathan Road, one of Hong Kong's busiest areas and a popular destination for tourists, is to be closed for the next two years to allow a pedestrian subway link to be built in Tsim Sha Tsui.

Retailers and taxi drivers fear they will lose business and traffic congestion will worsen.

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The Transport Department yesterday announced three of the six lanes of Nathan Road between Mody Road and Middle Road will be closed from September 23 to allow work at Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station.

The three northbound and three southbound lanes will be reduced to one northbound and two southbound lanes.

Right turns from Nathan Road on to Peking Road will be banned.

The work, which will last until the end of 2004, includes extending the southern station concourse, and a new pedestrian subway link to the Middle Road subway, connecting with the future KCR East Tsim Sha Tsui station.

Senior engineer William Chung Goon-hung said traffic-relief measures would be introduced to cope with the situation.

These included widening Salisbury Road west of Nathan Road and the implementation of a gyratory system in the Peking Road area.

"With the implementation of improvement schemes, adverse traffic impact could be alleviated and the traffic conditions will be kept within an acceptable limit," he said.

But taxi drivers and shops in the affected area remained unconvinced. Electrical store Fullmark said the improvement schemes provided no compensation for the inevitable loss of business. The owner said he planned to close the shop soon.

Staff at fashion chain Baleno shared the fears over loss of trade. "We expect some impact on our businesses but there is not much we can do about it," one said.

"At the moment, we are still doing the sums on our potential losses."

Taxi Associations Federation spokesman Ng Kwok-hung said that on top of worsening traffic congestion, he feared people would switch to public transport to get to the area.

felix.chan@scmp.com

2. Moribund PC market hails Tablet's entry
DOUG NAIRNE in Beijing, SCMP Sep 13, 2002

It looks and acts like a cross between a clipboard and a computer and comes loaded with expectations of single-handedly sparking some life into the slumping PC market.
Microsoft's Tablet PC will be available on November 7, but the hype is already under way in preparation for the launch. Yesterday, the software firm and several of its hardware partners showcased their version of the new portable computers, with Microsoft officials predicting that within five years the majority of laptops in use would be Tablet PCs.
"The Tablet PC is the evolution of the laptop. It's the next big thing in laptop computers. After November 7, if someone asks you if you have the best laptop available you will only say 'yes' if you have a Tablet PC," said Alexandra Loeb, Microsoft vice-president responsible for the ultra-portable computers.

Tablet PCs are generally smaller and lighter than a conventional laptop, and use handwriting recognition and a stylus that writes directly on the screen. Despite the size and weight, they have the same features as most other high-end portables.

Microsoft provides the operating system and other software. At least 10 hardware makers are expected to launch a version of the Tablet PC in the coming months.

Last week, Stan Shih, Acer's chairman, said the product would help fuel a rebound in his company's sales during the last part of the year.

Acer senior director Campbell Kan said the company expected Tablet PCs to be the standard laptop within a few years. The company projects that up to 20 per cent of its laptops will feature the new design next year.

"In three to four years it will be up to 80 per cent," Mr Kan said.

But not everyone is as bullish on how quickly the devices will catch on.

Even some of Microsoft's partners remain cautious.

Fujitsu spokeswoman June Chin said the Japanese computer maker did not envision Tablet PCs as a laptop replacement, but rather as an addition to its ultra-portable product line.

Legend spokesman Yang Xia likened the hype to the introduction of the first laptops and PDAs - both were launched with an expectation of killing off the desktop, but the predictions did not come true.

"The Tablet PC will just be another choice for the user," he said.

Legend is expected to be the first mainland computer maker to commercially produce a tablet PC, which will offer traditional and simplified Chinese character recognition.

IDC research director Kitty Fok said Tablet PCs would initially find a small niche among corporate users.

"The introduction of Tablet PCs will result in a minor push in demand, but it will not be significant," she said.

"It will replace some of the ultra-portable computers but I don't see them replacing hand-held devices."

Ms Fok said pricing would hamper consumer sales, as the devices were expected to cost several hundred US dollars more than comparable laptops.

Some of the caution over Tablet PCs may come from over-hyped and under-performing devices of the past.

Handwriting recognition software has been around for decades, but the technology never caught hold with the average consumer, in part because it did not work very well.

Ms Loeb said a big part of the marketing effort would be directed towards winning back consumers who had had bad experiences in the past.

"It will be a hurdle. There is scepticism but we have learned from the bad experiences people had," she said.

3. Call to scrap HOS buy-backs
by Eli Lau, The Standard Sep 13, 2002

Developers yesterday called for the scrapping of the buy-back policy on Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats, saying it is wasting taxpayers' money.

Their comments came one day after Cheung Kong Holdings announced a discount plan to lure HOS flat owners to switch to its latest residential development.

HOS flat owners are guaranteed that the Housing Authority will buy back their homes at the original transaction price within the first two years of occupation.

Henderson senior property manager Donald Cheung said the company was unlikely to launch a preferential package to target HOS flat owners.

``I think the principle of the buy-back policy is to prevent investors buying and reselling a HOS flat within a short period when the property price is high,'' Cheung said.

``But the current market has reversed and prices have dropped a lot. It may not apply to the recent market situation, and [could] become a policy which wastes more social resources.''

Cheung said the government should suspend the policy or buy back HOS flats at the market price, if the owners could not find a purchaser in the secondary market.

New World Development senior manager for sales and marketing Barbara Ho echoed Cheung's comments and said the company had no intention of offering discounts to HOS flat owners.

Kerry Real Estate Agency executive director Chu Ip-pui believed a review of the HOS buy-back policy was necessary because pricing of private housing units had tumbled as low as subsidised flats.

About 46,000 HOS flats owners now qualify to resell their homes to the Housing Authority at the original price.

In the first seven months of the year, the Housing Authority bought back 580 HOS flats.

Centaline Property managing director Shih Wing-ching urged the government to axe the buy-back policy. ``The policy is distorted and misused,'' Shih said. ``The HOS flats owners actually can afford private units now.''

He described Cheung Kong's plan to attract HOS flat buyers as a ``gimmick'', saying it could not generate high profits.

Cheung Kong has offered discounts to HOS owners to buy at its Banyan Garden project in Sheung Sha Wan and Hampton Place in West Kowloon. The preferential payment terms included a cash rebate of up to HK$5,000, a HK$60,000 interest-free loan and various decoration and furniture vouchers.