New owner of Hong Kong’s Citybus and New World First Bus weighs merger as losses mount

CEO of Bravo Transport Services, which took over the two operators last year, admits hefty losses have forced the company to look at cost-trimming options

But no firm plans can be made until after the government carries out a consultation on the renewal of the two franchises, which will expire in 2023

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Citybus and New World First Bus account for about 30 per cent of franchised bus operations in Hong Kong. Photo: May Tse

Published: 4:38pm, 29 Jul 2021Updated: 11:24pm, 29 Jul 2021

The new owner of one of Hong Kong’s largest franchised bus groups has confirmed it is considering a merger of Citybus and New World First Bus (NWFB) in a bid to keep business afloat amid heavy losses during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking openly for the first time on Thursday, Adam Leishman, CEO of Bravo Transport Services, the new company that runs the two bus firms, said the firm was examining all possibilities to keep business sustainable, including a possible merger of the two firms, as the Post reported earlier.

“Honestly on the back of Covid-19, the business has been in a very challenging financial position,” he said. “We’re very committed to the long term in Hong Kong. We want to see growth. We want to see a sustainable healthy business and we look at all possibilities as to how we do that.”

Adam Leishman, CEO of Bravo Transport Services. Photo: Jonathan Wong

But Leishman said the company had no firm plans yet about the proposed merger as the government was conducting a consultation on the renewal of two bus franchises, which would expire in 2023.

“[The merger] is not something that is going to happen in the immediate future. But it’s one of the options we are looking at,” he said.

Bravo took over the two bus companies after a consortium led by private equity fund Templewater Bravo paid HK$3.2 billion (US$412 million) to buy them from infrastructure company NWS Holdings last October.