SHKP Quarterly

Contributions from non-property businesses The Group will always be first and foremost a property company, but the current non- property business portfolio is broad and with many strategic assets. This includes SmarTone (a leading mobile operator), SUNeVision (the biggest data centre operator in Hong Kong), Transport International, the Wilson Group, the Hong Kong Business Aviation Centre, YATA (the Japanese-style department store and supermarket) and others. Non-property businesses produced over HK$4,000 million in operating income in the last financial year. The synergies with the property business are also material. “For instance,” says Allen, “some customers tell us that having YATA in their residential development adds another layer of convenience in daily life. There are also now many joint promotions between the property and non-property businesses for our SHKP Club members.” Be faster, be adaptive In Allen’s view, there is an increasing risk that old economy companies are not acting fast enough. “It is not about accelerating initiatives unnecessarily and damaging quality, but about being faster when we can. E-commerce heavyweight Jeff Bezos says that companies should make more decisions when it only has 70% of information, because by the time you have full information you will be too late. This is certainly very true.” Allen feels the key is to experiment with new ideas more and reduce the planning time: “Trial and error is a virtue, or you’ll miss the market.” In an age of rapid changes, there has to be a willingness to change one’s business model when the opportunities come. Allen cites a good example at Sky100, which is Hong Kong’s premier observation deck on the 100th floor of International Commerce Centre (ICC) in West Kowloon. Sky100 has historically been a strong tourist attraction, and it still is. But a few years ago when tourism was at a downturn, management came up with the idea to make Sky100 a super-deluxe venue for corporate events and weddings. This was met with tremendous success, and now the “event business” accounts for a substantial portion of Sky100’s revenues. Sky100 is now also seen as one of the most special venues for weddings. “Sky100 is running on a totally different business model now,” said Allen, “If it wasn’t for the team’s willingness to break the status quo, it would not be possible to see such success.” Life at SHKP In the midst of changes, some things never change. A successful enterprise, Allen says, is a people-oriented one that acts for the benefit of both customers and staff. The Group has long made people a priority and Allen feels this is a key reason for the Group’s success. The Group invests heavily in developing staff at all levels, and has been very open to feedback. Allen reflects himself: “I must take the initiative to listen. Our colleagues are full of new ideas both to improve on how we work and how we engage our customers, and we must especially listen to our frontline staff who know what our customers want.” And Allen’s impressions of the Group after joining it? “I am very impressed by how people-oriented our Group is. I used to be a consultant at McKinsey and I have seen companies that say they are people-oriented, but in the end they are not always able to walk the talk. At SHKP it is different. Take a small example – providing free lunch to our staff. This seems to be small but during economic downturns most companies would stop this practice because of cost. Our Group did not do so. This is for sure a sign of true commitment.” Allen values work-life balance but admits management has a responsibility to ensure staff can achieve it. He says: “We have to clarify priorities so that our colleagues can arrange their work accordingly and not be overwhelmed!” What does Allen do for his leisure time? “I love music and travelling, especially to Japan. It helps me renew myself and maintain a clear, agile mind for the tasks ahead. Because of my background I still read a lot of history books. Hopefully one day I will have time to complete my research on modern China!” Non-property business in infrastructure, retail, telecommunications and information technology generates significant earnings for the Group 非地產業務組合涉及基建、零售、電訊及資訊科技等範疇，為集團帶來重要收益 21