Hong Kong public institutions should use bank loans, own land rights to make ends meet, says finance chief
- Financial Secretary Paul Chan urges institutions such as West Kowloon Cultural District Authority to look into different options to make ends meet
- ‘Every organisation must do its best, whether by [revamping] their business models or using their land development rights, to ensure they can continue operating,’ he says
Hong Kong’s finance chief has called on public institutions such as the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority to use bank loans and their own land development rights to make ends meet.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Wednesday urged the institutions to look into the different options after arts hub chairman Henry Tang Ying-yen earlier said it was waiting for government approval for its proposal to put part of the district’s land on sale to ease its funding crisis.
“Institutions such as the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, Ocean Park and the Urban Renewal Authority must think about how to achieve a balance between revenue and expenditure as much as possible in their operating models,” Chan said at a youth forum.
The arts hub has said it will be forced to halt commitments for future events from June if it does not resolve its funding crisis by then.
The finance minister was replying to a question from a fresh university graduate on government help for cash-strapped public bodies, adding that if such organisations could make good use of funds from private lenders, they would no longer need regular capital injections from the government.
