The West Kowloon Cultural District Authority has been granted a HKD 3 billion ten-year loan from ICBC (Asia) and is also preparing to issue medium-term bonds of up to USD 1 billion

The Chairman of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, Chan Chi-sum, announced that a bank financing agreement of HKD 3 billion for a 10-year term has been reached with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia). Additionally, there are plans to launch a medium-term bond issuance program with a total cap of USD 1 billion.

The authority's finances have attracted public attention in recent years, with a projected deficit of approximately HKD 769 million for the fiscal year 2024/25, an increase of about 33% year-on-year; basic income is expected to decline by about 18% year-on-year to approximately HKD 871 million.

The authority also plans to finance through other means, including referencing the experiences of other public institutions to launch a medium-term bond issuance program. Under the framework of this program, the authority can issue bonds in batches as needed, with a total cap of USD 1 billion.

He stated that the loan term significantly exceeds that of similar loans from other local public institutions, reflecting the banking sector's strong recognition of West Kowloon's promotion of cultural arts and industrialization, as well as their confidence in West Kowloon's future development.

The authority will continue to advance commercial development projects, with the first public-private partnership project in West Kowloon - the Art Park Building - expected to be completed next year, which will provide the authority with relatively stable rental income.

As for residential development projects, the authority is actively preparing for the tendering of the proposed residential development project located in West Kowloon Zone 2B, expecting to meet the conditions for project tendering within this year, with the actual tendering time depending on market conditions