Page 16 - Urban Renewal Authority 2023-24 Annual Report

MANAGING DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

Along with these and other innovative measures, the URA in recent years has been committed to sustaining
stable financial and cash flow conditions. With advanced planning and preparation, we are well-positioned to
mitigate the impacts and risks arising from the uncertain global economic environment on our urban renewal
projects.
To ensure an urban renewal programme is self-financing, about two years ago we began preparations for
external financing in anticipation of future cashflow shortages so that the URA has adequate funds to meet
current and future business needs. Our efforts in this direction included requesting an increase in the URA’s
borrowing limit from the Financial Secretary and co-ordinating with the credit rating agency to strengthen the
URA’s credit rating.
At the end of June, URA’s Medium Term Note Programme was successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock
Exchange, paving the way for future bond issuances. At the same time, we are maintaining close liaison with our
relationship banks to explore an alternative financing channel via syndicated loans. Together, we will conduct
regular reviews of the arrangements under a dynamic management approach to secure the funds required for
projects outlined in our Corporate Plan.

Along with external financing, we have also improved our cashflow via internal mechanisms. Over the past year,
our team periodically reviewed the scheduled timeline for project tenders, cash flow status and future acquisition
needs. Our aim is to enhance the co-ordination of tender and acquisition schedules to ensure that the upfront
payments received from tenders can replenish the cashflow needed for upcoming acquisitions of other projects
in a timely manner.

Moreover, we have been exploring ways to simplify the terms and conditions of tenders and reduce the
complexity involved in project tendering. For example, the provision of Government, Institution or Community
(G/IC) facilities is now excluded from tender documents, allowing developers to focus mainly on the
development of residential towers and their ancillary facilities. We believe this will enhance their incentive to
tender bids and hence improve the competitiveness of the projects.
The above efforts demonstrate that the URA has made comprehensive preparations to take forward urban
renewal projects in both favourable and challenging times. We have also sought to overcome constraints through
new strategic approaches to address the challenges and potential risks encountered in these projects.

Encouraging Property Owners to Take Responsibility for Building Rehabilitation
As the problem of ageing buildings is worsening, redevelopment alone is no longer sufficient. Effective building
rehabilitation is critical for extending the service life of buildings, as this allows time to concentrate resources on
the redevelopment of dilapidated buildings and accumulate resources for urban renewal works.

During the past year, the URA continued to promote building rehabilitation in three major areas: providing one-
stop services for the implementation of the Government’s subsidy schemes, enhancing owners’ knowledge of
repair and maintenance and offering them technical support, and formulating innovative measures to step up the
promotion of building rehabilitation.
The URA also administers five Government-funded building rehabilitation schemes, covering building
inspections, repair works of common areas, fire safety improvements, lift modernisation, drainage system repairs,
and maintenance of self-use residential properties involving public funding of HK$19 billion. To date, the URA
has approved over 20,000 applications.

OBB 2.0 FSWS
Operation Building Fire Safety Improvement
HK$19
Bright 2.0 Works Subsidy Scheme
billion

LIMSS DRS
Lift Modernisation Building Drainage System
Subsidy Scheme Repair Subsidy Scheme

BMGSNO
Building Maintenance Grant
Scheme for Needy Owners
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