In response to your editorial of May 17, headlined, 'Profits and loss', I feel I ought to put the record straight.
Neither I nor anyone else from KMB has ever '(tried) to insist on some alternative form of profits guarantee being incorporated into (our) new franchise' or to 'push for privileged treatment'.
The existing Profit Control Scheme does not guarantee our level of profit.
If we do not achieve the permitted return, we do not get any government subsidy to make up the shortfall.
On the other hand, if we achieve more than the permitted return, the excess cannot be distributed to our shareholders, but has to be put into a Development Fund.
As a franchised public bus operator, we enjoy certain rights which are protected by law. But we also shoulder many obligations, including the provision of services which are loss-making. What we are seeking to achieve in the current negotiations with the Government is a new or extended franchise which strikes a balance between our rights and our obligations.