天星小輪尋求新投資者入股

天星小輪尋求新投資者入股
指過去 30 個月已虧蝕過去 30 年所賺收入, 現時總乘客量遠低於三年前
“我們討論的不是回復正常，是能否生存”

Since the pandemic began, the crowds that Mr. Ng once jostled to squeeze onto the ferry gangplank are gone. There are now so few passengers that the company that owns Star Ferry says the service may soon end, dimming the life of the harbor and the city itself.

In 2019, confrontations in Hong Kong between pro-democracy protesters and riot police officers were broadcast around the world. Protesters carrying helmets and protective goggles made their way to demonstrations to demand political freedom from China. Streets once crowded with tourists were shrouded in tear gas.

The confrontations brought on a fierce crackdown from Beijing and marked the beginning of the Star Ferry’s recent financial troubles: The company says that it has lost more money in the 30 months since the protests erupted than it made over the last three decades. Even though the ferries can still be crowded at certain times of the day, especially when the weather is nice, the overall passenger numbers are far below what they were three years ago.

A strict Covid policy. As China grapples with its worst Covid-19 outbreak since the beginning of the pandemic, the government is following a “zero Covid” strategy. The approach has put hundreds of millions of people’s lives on pause and could have far-reaching effects.

A pause on wealth redistribution. For much of last year, China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, waged a fierce campaign to narrow social inequalities and usher in a new era of “common prosperity.” Now, as the economic outlook is increasingly clouded, the Communist Party is putting its campaign on the back burner.

“The company is bleeding hard and we definitely need to find our way out,” said David Chow Cheuk-yin, the general manager. Mr. Chow has appealed to the public through media appearances, hoping that a cry for help will resonate with a deep-pocketed investor in a city built by business tycoons.

When he was asked to take over running the Star Ferry late last year, things were looking up, Mr. Chow said. Hong Kong had declared victory over the virus. Small businesses nearly destroyed by pandemic restrictions that had mostly cut Hong Kong off from the rest of the world began making plans to fully reopen. Some lawmakers even discussed loosening border controls.

“We were talking about recovery when I first took up this role,” Mr. Chow said.

Then Omicron broke through Hong Kong’s fortress walls, forcing restaurants, bars, gyms and schools to close. “Instead of recovery, we are talking about survival mode,” said Mr. Chow. “Everything changed so quickly.”

Ref: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/19/world/asia/hong-kong-star-ferry.html?smid=url-share


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搵人入股都係燒錢
亞視翻版

把碼頭各個可租的地方租出去，就不會有甚麼問題。