Statement by DoJ on Mrs Nina Wang's estate
Regarding the case of the estate of the late Mrs Nina Wang, the Department of Justice today (January 6) made the following statement:
The Court of First Instance of the High Court has appointed Nina Wang Charity Management Limited as the trustee of the charitable trust of the estate of the late Mrs Wang. The Secretary for Justice (SJ) has also appointed Mrs Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, Mr Joseph Yam Chi-kwong and Mr Cheng Yan-kee as members of the supervisory managing organisation (SMO) responsible for supervising the operation of the trustee.
Under the current laws of Hong Kong, the SJ has a role in protecting charitable interests.
Mrs Wang expressed her testamentary wishes in her will to set up a charitable fund. In view of the significant public interest involved, the SJ, in his capacity as protector of charities, intervened as the then prevailing circumstances so required in the matters concerning Mrs Wang's estate and participated in the relevant legal proceedings. On May 16, 2024, the court approved the scheme of administration for the estate (the Scheme) submitted by the SJ. The key points of the Scheme are summarised as below:
(1) Trustee of the charitable trust (Trustee): to set up a special purpose vehicle company (the Company, namely Nina Wang Charity Management Limited) as the Trustee. As a company limited by guarantee, the Company's sole member is The Financial Secretary Incorporated or its directly held subsidiary established in accordance with the Financial Secretary Incorporation Ordinance (Chapter 1015 of the Laws of Hong Kong).
(2) SMO: in accordance with Mrs Wang's testamentary wishes, an SMO formed by three independent individuals is set up to supervise the operation of the Trustee. The appointees, who are appointed by the SJ, must possess unquestionable integrity, experience and judgement.
(3) Main responsibilities of the Trustee: include (but are not limited to) supervising the business operations of the Chinachem Group, and approving the Group's financial budget and proposed major decisions. In addition, the Trustee will devise a budget for its charity-related works, which will be used for charity projects, fundraising and, in accordance with Mrs Nina Wang's testamentary wishes, the preparation for setting up a "fund and a Chinese prize of worldwide significance similar to that of the Nobel Prize".
(4) Board of governors of the Trustee: there will be a board of governors for the Trustee, akin to a board of directors for a private company. The members of the board of governors shall be appointed pursuant to the Scheme and the Articles of Association of the Company, with at least two governors being government officials.
Pursuant to the Scheme:
(1) The SJ made an application to the court to appoint the Company as the trustee of the charitable trust under Mrs Wang's estate, and approval was granted by the court on November 21, 2024.
(2) The SJ has also appointed three independent individuals, namely Mrs Rita Fan Hsu Lai-tai, Mr Joseph Yam Chi-kwong and Mr Cheng Yan-kee, as members of the SMO responsible for supervising the operation of the Trustee.
Pursuant to the terms of the Scheme and the Articles of Association of the Company, the Trustee will at a suitable time after the appointment of governors make available to the public information about the composition of the board of governors, along with details of the Scheme and other related information.
The Department of Justice firmly believes that once the Trustee's board of governors is established, the Trustee will do its utmost in administering the charitable trust under the supervision of the SMO, including charity projects and a "fund and a Chinese prize of worldwide significance similar to that of the Nobel Prize", to fulfil Mrs Wang's testamentary wishes and bring benefits to the country, including different sectors of Hong Kong society.
Government announces quarterly land sale programme for January to March 2025
The Government announced today (January 7) the quarterly land sale programme for the fourth quarter of 2024-25, i.e. January to March 2025.
The Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, said in the fourth quarter of 2024-25, the Government will put up for tender a residential site at Area 106B of Tung Chung New Town Extension, expected to provide a total gross floor area of approximately 37 200square metres and a supply of about 745 flats. This site is not one of the sites on the Land Sale Programme (LSP) this financial year, but the Government considers it an appropriate time to include this site in the LSP and put up for tender in the fourth quarter. When arriving at this decision, the Government has considered recent market environment and views from market stakeholders, the MTR Corporation Limited's recent successful tender of a site nearby, as well as the upcoming gradual completion of public housing in the area. Area 106B sits on a harbourfront location and will be served by the future Tung Chung East Station. Having regard to the views from the real estate industry, the tender of Area 106B attaches simple tender conditions and no requirement to construct Government facilities. Moreover, as the site sits on reclaimed land, the developer is not required to conduct any further site formation works, which may help reduce development cost.
The Government once put up Area 106B for tender in September 2023, but the tender premiums received did not meet the reserve price and hence the tender was cancelled. For the re-tender of Area 106B, the Government has taken into account market feedbacks and enhanced the tender conditions of the site. For example, the infrastructural capacity of the site could only afford around 400 units in the previous tender, resulting in rather large average flat size. After the Government's review on infrastructural capacity, the site now has a capacity to produce 745 units with smaller average unit size, enhancing the business return of the development. As regards construction works, a new road serving the site will be completed very soon, enhancing the accessibility of the site and facilitating construction works.
In addition, the Urban Renewal Authority plans to tender in this quarter its development project in Shantung Street / Thistle Street, bringing about 340flats. As for private development and redevelopment projects, two projects are expected to complete their lease modifications in the fourth quarter, providing a supply of 13 flats.
"Taking all sources of land supply into account, the total private housing land supply in the fourth quarter of this financial year would support the development of around 1 110 units. Together with the supply from the first three quarters, the total private housing land supply of this financial year is expected to support some 8 340 units, which is around 63 per cent of our annual target of private housing supply (13 200units). This figure has not yet reflected private redevelopment projects not requiring lease modification from the fourth quarter, as such figures are only available at a later stage," Ms Linn said.
Ms Linn added that the total private housing supply of this financial year may fall short of the annual target, but this outturn is expected and reasonable. The high interest rate environment and geopolitical developments have impacted investment and cash flow, reducing activities in local assets markets. Developers have been cautious in bidding for sites. Notwithstanding the recent interest rates adjustments and gradual market recovery, the Government believes developers would still need time to re-adjust. Hence the Government remains prudent and pragmatic in land disposal this quarter, even though it has ample sites to dispose of, reflecting that the Government has overall steer on land supply, which allows it to consider when to roll out sites depending on the circumstances. Also, private housing land supply from the past four financial years have exceeded the annual target by an aggregate of about 12 000 flats, far more than the shortfall in this financial year (about 4 860 flats).
The Government will continue to sustain its effort in rolling out land in a prudent and pragmatic manner, and flexibly adjust land disposal strategy according to market situation, in order to meet housing and economic development needs.
The list of the site to be tendered in January to March 2025 is in the Annex. The actual tender timetable will be drawn up taking into account the progress of necessary preparatory work. The Lands Department will announce the detailed land sale arrangements before the site is put up for tender.
