Hong Kong’s Housing Authority will offer 10 rent-free shops in government-operated shopping centres to young entrepreneurs in an effort to provide a platform to launch their business ideas and boost retail traffic.
The city’s major public housing builder on Saturday launched the “Well Being・Start-Up” programme to give individuals, aged 35 or below, the opportunity to run their businesses at its 10 stores rent-free for seven months starting from October.
“The authority hopes to leverage the vitality and innovative ideas of young people to provide a more diverse choice of products and shopping experiences for the community,” Secretary for Housing Winnie Ho Wing-yin said at a public housing shopping centre event.
“[It will] bring foot traffic to shopping centres and achieve mutual benefits for both residents and commercial tenants.”
She added that the initiative would give young Hongkongers a leg up to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.
The latest effort to tap into youth entrepreneurship was a measure to attract patronage in government-operated shopping centres and improve the occupancy rate.
In May, the government told the legislature that the public housing estate retail sites recorded “a relatively high level” of vacancy rate in recent years, reaching 3.92 per cent as of April.
The programme provides 10 shops located at different public housing estate shopping centres in Kowloon and the New Territories.
Successful applicants will be exempted from paying rent, while the authority will offer basic shop renovation and marketing services to the operators.
The authority said it would regularly review the applicants’ business performance and charge 20 per cent of their net profit to fund the programme’s development.
Applications for the scheme will open starting Thursday, August 1.
Operators will be allocated stores based on factors such as innovativeness, feasibility, market potential, societal benefits, finances and the ability to carry out the business proposals.
Lawmaker Scott Leung Man-kwong, who is also the authority’s subsidised housing committee member, said the scheme was a viable opportunity to boost patronage in retail facilities in public housing estates.
“Residents in public housing estates have been ageing and fewer people go to the shopping malls. It becomes a vicious cycle and worsens the business of the malls,” he said.
“I believe the scheme can attract new customers to the malls if the operators offer innovative ideas.”
Leung added that the scheme could offer more shops in the future, including public housing wet markets operated by the authority, to provide more opportunities for young entrepreneurs.
As of March last year, 24 per cent of the public rental flat households were elderly family with all members aged at least 60.
