MTR Corporation Limited

MTR Corporation Limited (Traditional Chinese: 地鐵有限公司), previously known as Mass Transit Railway Corporation (地下鐵路公司) is a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and included in the Hang Seng Index. It is the company that owns and runs the MTR metro system. It also invests and builds railways in different parts in the world.

History of the corporation

The Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC) was established in 1975 as a government-owned statutory corporation in order to oversee the initial construction of the Hong Kong Mass Transport System, and later to run and manage the functioning transport system. On 30 June 2000 the MTRC was succeeded by the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL). As with the MTRC, the MTRCL's principal business is to operate the mass transit railway system. Following a successful initial public offering, the MTRCL was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 5 October 2000, however the government maintains a majority stake in the MTRCL.

Operations

The MTR Corporation Limited is responsible for the operation of MTR in Hong Kong. Besides railway operations, the MTRCL is also actively involved in the development of key residential and commercial projects above existing stations and along new line extensions as well as many other commercial activities associated with the railway. The most recent of such developments was the large Maritime Square shopping centre development which was built in conjunction with Tsing Yi station. The MTRCL is also involved in the letting of retail and poster advertising space, ATM banking facilities, and personal telecommunication services. It also provides consultancy services to organizations worldwide.

Property management

Property is one of the main businesses of the MTR. The MTR tries to develop suitable sites related to their new railway projects and their existing railway. For instance, the reclaimed land situated in West Kowloon that is owned by the MTR will be developed into an area with residential, office and retail space. Two of Hong Kong's largest banks, HSBC and the Bank of China are to have office towers there. Furthermore, will be more than 7,000 housing units in the development. The MTR also owns several shopping centres, as well as the new International Finance Centre.

Shopping centres

The MTR Corporation invested heavily to develop large scale shopping centres around MTR stations. An example of such a shopping centre is Maritime Square (青衣城) located at Tsing Yi station. Maritime Square is a nautical-themed mall in which there are supermarkets, boutiques, bookstores, a cinema, and restaurants. Since Tsing Yi station serves as the transportation hub for Tsing Yi, Maritime Square is also easily accessible by other transportation means including buses and taxis. Other shopping centers developed and managed by the corporation include Paradise Mall (杏花新城), Telford Plaza (德福廣場), and Luk Yeung Galleria (綠楊坊).

Operations outside Hong Kong

Proposed MTRCL-KCRC merger

See also