MTR Corporation has the negotiated rights to develop and own property. This rail + property business model provides the means for sustained profitability while investing in and building future rail lines. Our portfolio of investment properties includes mainly shopping centres and commercial properties, with a land bank for future development of 2.5 million sq. m., mainly along our most recently completed Tseung Kwan O (TKO) line.

We pride ourselves on our rail and customer services innovation. Broadly recognised are the new and diversified applications of the Octopus smart-card. As a widely used transport ticketing mechanism, it now covers fare systems for most local public and franchised transport services, as well as acting as a payment system for retail purchases in shops across Hong Kong. It has come into service more recently as an access control system for buildings and workplaces. More than 11.8 million cards are in circulation, with a daily average of 8.8 million transactions.

Our expertise in both rail services and the business of rail is helping to shape China's sustainable future. Our rail consulting business is engaged in advising on and project managing a number of mass transit projects in major urban centres of mainland China. In 2004, we entered into an agreement in principle to develop the Shenzhen Metro Line 4 (Guangdong Province) based on our rail + property model. More recently, in Beijing under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) joint venture arrangement, we were granted a 49% shareholding and the right to equip and provide rolling stock to a subway line within the greater Beijing metro system, inclusive of a 30-year operating contract. We continue to seek further opportunities for investment in China’s transit systems, albeit operating under a business model based on an internal set of
investment criteria and risk/reward assessments.