Vision directs actions. This is particularly important as we are sailing through the various difficulties with the economic and social environment in the last couple of years. The Housing Society has a clear vision to provide quality and innovative housing solutions and management to serve the needs of the Hong Kong community. As a provider and manager of more than 54,000 homes under various schemes for over 120,000 residents, the Housing Society is committed to offering suitable and affordable housing attuned to the needs of Hong Kong people, not to be distracted by the disruptions brought by the unseen challenges in the past year.
Working under the shadow of COVID-19, we continued taking forward our development plans to create quality homes for Hong Kong people. On-site construction activities and project planning continued in full swing, despite certain disruption caused by the fifth wave of COVID-19 which broke out in early 2022, the last quarter of the fiscal year. As the Housing Society will hit peak construction in the coming 10 years, we conducted several strategic reviews — including a funding plan and commercial letting strategy — to map out a prudent business plan for our long-term corporate development. We also revamped the annual corporate planning framework, by clearly defining the Strategic Objectives and Performance Goals of divisions, and better aligning them to the corporate vision, mission and core values, which helps enhance the effectiveness of our efforts.
During this turbulent time, the Housing Society sought to maintain business as usual and ensure that essential services were provided to the highest professional standards, even though a number of our staff tested positive for COVID-19. This was only possible thanks to the resilience and perseverance demonstrated by our team who are highly commendable.
As a socially responsible organisation, the Housing Society never overlooks those individuals who are struggling within the community because of the pandemic’s territory-wide impact. Additional resources and measures were deployed in a timely way to address the financial needs of residents within our estates, as well as those who were hardest hit by the pandemic.
ROBUST DEVELOPMENT PLANS FOR HOUSING PROJECTS
Despite all these challenges, we pressed ahead with various housing projects in line with Government policy. They are progressing well and include projects of Rental Estate Redevelopment, Subsidised Sale Flats (SSF), Dedicated Rehousing Estates (DRE), and housing projects for the elderly, be they under construction or at the planning stage.
Redeveloping Old Rental Estates
Redeveloping old rental estates is no simple process. It involves identifying suitable sites to build decanting estates and rehousing thousands of residents who have often lived in these estates for decades. During the year, flats were handed over to residents of the Ming Wah Dai Ha (MWDH) Phase I Redevelopment upon completion. After decanting the condemned rental blocks, demolition work for the Phase II Redevelopment commenced in the first half of 2022.
The MWDH Phase I Redevelopment not only provides a better living environment with comprehensive facilities and green spaces, it also offers 72 accessible units for the elderly that are designed to be age-friendly with barrier-free features. Another 330 units (around a third of the 966 units in Phase I) feature adaptable designs that meet the special needs of seniors and wheelchair users, helping to create an intergenerational-living community. The Phase II and Phase III Redevelopments will provide additional 1,600 and 1,300 units (750 SSF and some 600 Senior Citizen Residences Scheme units), bringing the total number of units within the entire MWDH redevelopment to over 3,900.
During the year, we continued working on the redevelopment of Yue Kwong Chuen and Kwun Tong Garden Estate II. Planning applications for both projects have been submitted while works have started on the foundations for their decanting sites at Shek Pai Wan Road and Ting On Street respectively.
Subsidised Sale Flats
27 rescinded units in our three SSF projects — Greenhill Villa in Sha Tin, Mount Verdant in Tseung Kwan O and Terrace Concerto in Tuen Mun — were put up for re-sale through the Hong Kong Housing Authority’s “Sale of Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) Flats 2022”.
At the same time, six SSF projects located at Jockey Club Road, Kai Tak Area 2B Site 1, Anderson Road Quarry and Yuen Long are either at the planning stage or under construction and will deliver over 6,000 affordable units to home buyers between 2025 and 2028.
Dedicated Rehousing Estates
Construction progressed well at three of our DRE projects — Pak Wo Road, Kai Tak Area 1E Site 1 and Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area (NDA) Phases I and II — while two new projects, Kwu Tung North and Ma Tau Kok Link Site, are being planned. Among these, the Pak Wo Road, Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen NDA and Kwu Tung North projects are located in the Northern Metropolis which will serve as an economic and residential hub for around 2.5 million residents as one of the Government’s strategic plans unveiled last October. The above-mentioned DRE projects will provide over 10,000 housing units.
Urban Squatter Areas
We are committed to supporting the Government in responding to the community’s housing needs by applying our experience in housing construction and integrated community planning. Upon the Government’s invitation, we have undertaken to redevelop three urban squatter areas at Cha Kwo Ling Village, Ngau Chi Wan Village and Chuk Yuen United Village and planning work has already started with good progress. These three redevelopment projects will boost housing supply, adding another 8,800 units.
Housing for the Elderly
The Housing Society has deployed considerable resources to respond to the city’s rapidly ageing population. We piloted several affordable yet high-quality elderly housing projects to demonstrate the concepts of “ageing-in-place” and “intergenerational living”.
Our two new elderly housing projects at Lee Kung Street (312 units) and Jat Min Chuen (64 units) that cater for different income groups are expected for completion in 2022 and 2023 respectively. As the Housing Society’s third project under the Senior Citizen Residences Scheme, the Lee Kung Street project targets elderly people in the middle-income bracket. On the other hand, the Jat Min Chuen project will offer seniors in the estate rent-free lifelong tenancies as an incentive to surrender their under-occupied flats.
Transitional Housing
To optimise existing housing resources and allow families queuing for public rental housing an opportunity to improve their living environment more quickly, we first launched the T-Home transitional housing scheme in 2018. Currently, the five T-Home projects in operation are at Yue Kwong Chuen, Kwun Tong Garden Estate, Chun Seen Mei Chuen, MWDH and Trackside Villas. The latest addition at MWDH, for example, offers a total of 112 domestic units suitable for 2 to 4-person households. With other rental estates to be redeveloped, additional vacant units awaiting redevelopment will be converted into T-Home units.
COMBAT AGAINST THE VIRUS
The Housing Society sees its role beyond a housing provider in a conventional sense. For over 70 years, the Housing Society has stood shoulder to shoulder with the people of Hong Kong through good times and bad. When the city was combating COVID-19, we once again introduced various relief measures to support people from every walk of life. During the year, we provided two rounds of rent concessions to commercial tenants while domestic tenants had enjoyed a one-month rent waiver in October 2021.
Helping our tenants has been a worthwhile cause, demonstrating the Housing Society’s commitment to supporting the community through these difficult times. We were relieved to learn that there was no significant increase in void rate of our commercial premises during the fifth, and most severe wave of COVID-19, due in no small part to the timely financial support we offered to our commercial tenants.
The “Bounce Back Together” Shopping Promotion Campaign launched in August 2021 and the Community Care Campaign in March 2022 further testified our commitment to the community. The former helped boost local consumption by distributing about HK$20 million worth of shopping coupons to our tenants and families in need within the community. The latter, worth some HK$12 million, offered immediate relief to people needing help to get through COVID-19. Over 50,000 anti-pandemic kits as well as financial aid and mental health support were given away. We also created hundreds of temporary and short-term jobs by recruiting people to provide anti-epidemic customer services in our estates, shopping centres and wet markets.
To safeguard the health of residents, we increased cleaning and disinfection services across our rental estates and managed properties. We also provided the frontline staff who offer emergency on-site support and services to tenants with enhanced PPE gear such as masks, face shields and protective clothing.
We strengthened preventive measures at all offices and construction sites. Vaccine Passes are currently compulsory at our offices and sites, at which all staff and site workers must show they have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before entering the premises.
WEAVING NETWORK BUILDING TEAM
Social distancing should not mean severing ties with the community. The pandemic prompted us to find new ways to connect with our stakeholders. With the help of technology, community engagement has taken on new forms. We found creative ways to keep stakeholders engaged, but in safe distances. Several community events went virtual or hybrid, for example, the annual Hong Kong Housing Society Award ceremony, which succeeded in offering an experience that was equally enjoyable for both digital and physical participants.
The Housing Society offers scholarships and bursaries to young talents who one day will take the helm and steer Hong Kong’s housing development into a new era. Members of the Housing Society Academy Alumni Club, formed by the awardees, joined an initiative to make phone calls to over one thousand elderly tenants living in our rental estates — and offer them love and support at a time when many were socially isolated by the pandemic.
Online volunteer training and regular neighbourhood gatherings were organised by the CES (Caring, Engaging and Smart) Team and a website offering services for the elderly was revamped into an interactive online education platform.
To encourage intergenerational solidarity and create common goals for residents old and young, we piloted an innovative estate-based intergenerational programme in Jat Min Chuen that helped both generations connect through captivating games and sports.
Our triennial full corporate team-building training programme “New Dimensions, Together We Achieve” helped bring staff closer to the community through activities such as painting metal gates for elderly people living alone in our rental estates and preparing meals for those in need. Small actions can have big impact. By giving back to the community, people from different backgrounds can better connect and collectively support the community.
KEEPING COLLECTIVE MEMORIES ALIVE
Apart from building homes that transform lives for the better, we also maintain the community networks that bind people together. During redevelopment projects, we treasure the countless precious memories that every brick and tile is imbued with.
We launched a comprehensive cultural heritage preservation project in tandem with the redevelopment of old rental estates that includes a wide range of initiatives. A website dedicated to MWDH is the first of many such sites. It contains interesting stories about MWDH from over half a century ago, such as insights into the first residents and the then building and property management staff. A series of sketches illustrating the spatial design of MWDH are also available online. We have also reserved physical spaces, both indoors and outdoors, at the redeveloped estate for setting up an exhibition corner. After it is fully redeveloped, these will showcase signature features from the original estate as well as household items from years gone by.
Our rental estates have witnessed Hong Kong’s evolution and their communities are therefore valuable assets. Through preserving the history and culture of these estates, different generations, old and young, can learn more about our past and also how these environments and the residents who lived there changed and also evolved.
FORMULATING EFFECTIVE ESG STRATEGIES
Sustainability has taken a centre stage in the development of all businesses, locally and globally. For an organisation like the Housing Society, the public increasingly expect us to advance environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals through our operations.
To ensure sustainability priorities compatible with the Housing Society’s strategic objectives and woven into our corporate culture, we have established a cross-division sustainability working group. This puts sustainability into practice in such areas as housing development, property management and related services, community building, new talent development as well as our corporate functions.
Last October, the Government launched Hong Kong’s Climate Action Plan 2050, outlining the strategies and targets for combating climate change and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. The Housing Society has supported by joining as a Carbon Neutrality partner and setting targets in various areas such as energy saving and green buildings, green transport and waste reduction. Aspiring to be an innovative housing solution provider with a global vision, the Housing Society is committed to playing its part in advancing long-term sustainability by minimising the ecological footprint of its daily operations.
To better measure our sustainability performance, we introduced a new ESG section into our Annual Report. This complements our Sustainability Report which is compiled every year to comply with the “Global Reporting Initiative Standards: Core Option”.
INNOVATING FOR A BETTER FUTURE
As a “housing laboratory”, we continue driving innovation and exploring new long-term business development opportunities. Formed in 2020, our Policy Research and Business Innovation Unit plays a pivotal role in strengthening our research capabilities for long-term development and jump-starting innovative solutions. To encourage bottom-up innovative ideas, we launched a Pilot Technology Seed Fund in November 2021. The Fund incentivises staff-driven innovations and technology solutions which will enhance business efficiency. Up to HK$500,000 is granted to each successful application. Three plans have been approved so far and have all been successfully executed.
Smart construction solutions are critical to the industry’s sustainable development and digitalisation is enabling more efficient project management and control. Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) was being adopted for two projects at construction stage — Hung Shui Kiu/ Ha Tsuen NDA Phase IA (MiC in concrete) and Jat Min Chuen elderly housing project (MiC in steel). Another project down the pipeline, a rental block at Kwu Tung North, will use MiC. This technique reduces construction time and waste on site, contributing to a more sustainable environment.
Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen NDA Phase IA is also one of our four projects currently adopting Building Information Modeling (BIM), a smart construction solution. The other three are the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen NDA Phase IB, Kai Tak Area 1E Site 1, and Ting On Street rental estate development.
We are also developing our own Digital Works Supervision System (DWSS) that includes a Request for Inspection and Survey Check (RISC) function. This technology is being applied in eight projects including the Senior Citizen Residences Scheme in Lee Kung Street and we will deploy it for all new projects in the next few years.
FINDING SOLUTIONS TO FUTURE LIVING NEEDS
To keep pace with the times, the Housing Society constantly explores new housing options to meet the needs of different age groups. In response to Hong Kong’s rapidly ageing population, a feasibility study was conducted to explore designs for different types of domestic units that offer greater accessibility and adaptability. As part of the study, several flat prototypes were constructed to better evaluate different design concepts. By championing the dual concepts of “ageing-in-place” and “intergenerational harmony”, we like to see industry practitioners in Hong Kong to apply similar provisions in their developments, and thereby create more sustainable homes for the community.
Last year, we initiated another pilot study to study intergenerational living models for Hong Kong. A working group was established across divisions to facilitate inter-disciplinary inputs. To be completed in 2022, the study will recommend creative housing ideas that better meet the needs of the elderly and guide the future housing development of the Housing Society.
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Amid a very challenging operating environment, yet we have kept spending within budget and our financial performance has achieved an operating surplus of HK$80 million during the fiscal year. But due to the highly volatile global economy and financial market, the net deficit of HK$1,260 million was recorded which was attributed to investment losses and the dearth of property sales. Despite this, our financial position remains healthy. As at 31 March 2022, our net assets were valued at HK$48.7 billion.
With a commitment to complete around 28,000 flats in about ten years, the Management devised a detailed funding plan and strategy to ensure that sufficient funds are in place to support the planning and construction of various housing schemes over the medium to long term.
WORKING TOWARD A COMMON VISION
I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the Members of the Supervisory Board and Executive Committee for their guidance and support over the past year. And we could not have risen to the unprecedented challenges again without the tireless input of the management team, and our frontline and back-of-house colleagues who had pursued excellence and performed ordinary tasks extraordinarily well during a time of great adversity.
To build a future-ready organisation, developing and retaining a pool of talent is critical. We will continue to review our talent acquisition strategy and develop bespoke learning programmes for high-potential employees. I am delighted to see the completion of our new Operations Headquarter at 1063 King’s Road and the renovation of our Corporate Office on the 28/F of the World Trade Centre. The new working environments have created space for our staff to encourage greater synergy.
Dozens of approved housing projects now rest on our shoulders, together with the commitment to be a responsible corporate citizen and continuous development. While there may always be something not entirely under our control like the pandemic, by holding onto our faith and vision, the Housing Society’s future success lies in our hands. With the unwavering support of our whole team, I look forward to forging ahead with our mission of “Create Homes · Revive Communities” — and developing a more inclusive and sustainable future for Hong Kong.
