Counting the cost of the Hong Kong government’s deal with the Link Reit on malls and markets
Real estate experts say the government, which sold shopping and car parking facilities to the Link, is to blame for the situation, rather than the trust and its management alone
On a typical weekday afternoon, the public area of one of the most remote public housing estates in east Kowloon’s Lam Tin – perched furthest uphill – appears overrun by sleepy elderly folk.
In Hong Kong’s midsummer heat, almost 100 of them occupy the narrow spaces between the residential blocks of Hing Tin Estate, dozing off on benches, playing chess, or watching others play the game in a tiny Chinese-style pavilion, sitting on the edge of planters chatting or ambling about slowly.
While they look relaxed, one of their daily routines has actually been made more difficult. The estate has a small two-storey complex with a mall and wet market, but a large part of it has gradually emptied since the government sold the complex to property investment trust Link Reit in 2005.
The situation did not get better after the Link subsequently sold the complex and its car park to a private investor in 2014 for HK$210 million. Today, fewer than 10 shops and stalls remain in the complex. About 80 per cent of the space is abandoned.
Now, the elderly residents must trek almost half an hour to and from the nearest shopping centre, Tak Tin Plaza, in the summer’s scorching sun or pouring rain to buy their daily groceries. There is no legal crossing on ground level on the way to the plaza and there is no lift installed in the nearest footbridge.
“My knees hurt every time when I go to Tak Tin,” said Chong Ngoc-tieu, in her late 60s, who has lived on the estate for 27 years.