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18-04-2015, 12:00 AM
An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:
HOW HONG KONG'S SUBWAY TURNS A $2 BILLION ANNUAL PROFIT
Post date:
17 Apr 2015 - 10:30pm
http://therealsingapore.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/hong-kong-subway_0.png?itok=dkDVINbn (http://therealsingapore.com/sites/default/files/field/image/hong-kong-subway_0.png)
You can find one of Hong Kong's most profitable businesses about 30 meters below the earth's surface.
The city's subway is the face of the Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTR) -- a publicly traded company that pulled in $5.2 billion in revenue last year.
With a $2 billion annual profit, the Hong Kong's subway is an anomaly among major rail networks. New York's subway, for example, suffers from chronic funding gaps and will spend nearly $2.5 billion in 2015 to service its debt.
How does Hong Kong's train and bus network manage to clear its mind-boggling margins?
First off, this is one impressive subway system. Even with more than 5 million daily commuters, MTR trains boast a 99.9% on-time arrival rate. Fares are notoriously cheap ($.50 to $3), but cover roughly 175% of the system's operating costs.
But the company's real profits are derived from a lesser-known side of the business: property development. Some 50 major properties across Hong Kong are owned, developed or managed by MTR, including two of the city's tallest skyscrapers.
"Sometimes critics say it's a property development firm doing a side business of rail," said Tim Hau, a professor at University of Hong Kong's School of Economics and Finance.
Here's how it works: MTR enjoys a special relationship with the Hong Kong government, which is also its majority shareholder. The government provides land -- at no cost -- for use by the train operator, and MTR is then allowed to develop the areas above and around its stations.
*Read the rest of the article at http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/30/news...bway-property/ (http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/30/news/hong-kong-mtr-subway-property/)
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://www.singsupplies.com/showthread.php?204940-How-hong-kong-s-subway-turns-a-2-billion-annual-profit&goto=newpost).
HOW HONG KONG'S SUBWAY TURNS A $2 BILLION ANNUAL PROFIT
Post date:
17 Apr 2015 - 10:30pm
http://therealsingapore.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/field/image/hong-kong-subway_0.png?itok=dkDVINbn (http://therealsingapore.com/sites/default/files/field/image/hong-kong-subway_0.png)
You can find one of Hong Kong's most profitable businesses about 30 meters below the earth's surface.
The city's subway is the face of the Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTR) -- a publicly traded company that pulled in $5.2 billion in revenue last year.
With a $2 billion annual profit, the Hong Kong's subway is an anomaly among major rail networks. New York's subway, for example, suffers from chronic funding gaps and will spend nearly $2.5 billion in 2015 to service its debt.
How does Hong Kong's train and bus network manage to clear its mind-boggling margins?
First off, this is one impressive subway system. Even with more than 5 million daily commuters, MTR trains boast a 99.9% on-time arrival rate. Fares are notoriously cheap ($.50 to $3), but cover roughly 175% of the system's operating costs.
But the company's real profits are derived from a lesser-known side of the business: property development. Some 50 major properties across Hong Kong are owned, developed or managed by MTR, including two of the city's tallest skyscrapers.
"Sometimes critics say it's a property development firm doing a side business of rail," said Tim Hau, a professor at University of Hong Kong's School of Economics and Finance.
Here's how it works: MTR enjoys a special relationship with the Hong Kong government, which is also its majority shareholder. The government provides land -- at no cost -- for use by the train operator, and MTR is then allowed to develop the areas above and around its stations.
*Read the rest of the article at http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/30/news...bway-property/ (http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/30/news/hong-kong-mtr-subway-property/)
Click here to view the whole thread at www.sammyboy.com (http://www.singsupplies.com/showthread.php?204940-How-hong-kong-s-subway-turns-a-2-billion-annual-profit&goto=newpost).