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MTR Corporation
OpinionComment
Dong Lei
Dong Lei

Opinion | MTR Corp should stop feeding Hong Kong’s housing crisis and help solve it instead

  • The MTR Corp has profited handsomely as a major property developer and landlord
  • As calls for regulation grow, the organisation must recall its civic duties as a mostly publicly owned company and commit to providing affordable housing

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Illustration: Stephen Case
Dong Lei

The MTR Corporation, in its headlong pursuit of profit from its real estate endeavours, has lost sight of its true function: to serve the people of Hong Kong.

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Its original and most important purpose is to meet Hong Kong’s public transport needs and, in part to secure the sustainability of that obligation, the corporation was permitted to dabble in real estate.

But these activities soon proved so profitable that they became the company’s main business, and consequently, have contributed to the city’s lack of affordable housing.

For a publicly owned corporation, social responsibility should supersede the desire to generate shareholder profits, defray pandemic shortfalls or compensate for unrelated costs. The MTR Corp needs to stop being part of Hong Kong’s housing equity problem, and start being part of its solution.

Its decision to reduce fares by 1.7 per cent from June 27 was laudable, particularly in times that continue to burden its riders so significantly. It was a small but welcome nod in the direction of civic duty.

10:08

Hong Kong has until 2049 to fix its housing crisis, but is it possible?

Hong Kong has until 2049 to fix its housing crisis, but is it possible?

But the corporation’s executives should not undermine that modest generosity or be lured by misguided practicality into further burdening a suffering populace.

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