Operators in the creative sector have asked the government to suspend its scheme to revitalise industrial buildings because they fear the resulting higher rents could badly affect their business.
In a meeting with the Development Opportunities Office yesterday, the tenants of industrial buildings in San Po Kong urged the government to consider measures that could help the creative industry survive under the new policy.
Under the policy, effective from April, owners are encouraged to convert and refurbish old industrial buildings. They will be exempted from paying a land premium.
The group said the government had not consulted operators affected by the policy.
'The industry has been trying hard to make a profit,' spokesman Horace Tse Kin-man said. 'We may be forced to move out of refurbished buildings if the rents are too high.'
The group suggested the government buy some industrial blocks and rent them to the operators at a lower price. Owners of refurbished blocks could also offer space at lower rents.
