CHINA DAILY HONG KONG EDITION Friday, August 12, 2016
BUSINESS | HK 11
ENTERTAINMENT
A penguin dives into a water tank at Ocean Park. The marine-themed park saw a 14-percent dip in the number of visitors last year,
compared with 2014, due to the decline in the number of Chinese mainland visitor arrivals in Hong Kong. JUSTIN CHIN / BLOOMBERG
Ocean Park fights on
with its ‘uniqueness’
HK’s oldest marine-themed park
confident in pushing out new
attractions amid stiff competition
By FELIKS CHEANG
in Hong Kong
feliks@chinadailyhk.com
With strikingly family-
oriented theme parks in the
region, like Zhuhai’s Chime
Long International Ocean
Resort and the newly opened
Shanghai Disneyland, breath-
ing down its neck, Hong
Kong’s 39-year-old Ocean Park
has been hastily pulling up its
socks to stay in the race.
A slew of new attractions,
including water parks and
plush hotels, are on the menu
as the city’s oldest theme park
takes up the challenge and
dips its toe into other Asian
markets.
Chief Executive Matthias
Li Sing-chung expects Ocean
Park to see a turnaround in
visitor traffic within years,
with Chinese mainland tour-
ists slated to make a comeback
after a lengthy decline.
“It’s a healthy adjustment,”
he says, referring to the down-
ward swing in visitor numbers
lately.
Li, who took up the top job
at the popular marine-themed
park just recently, blamed
external factors for the sub-
dued visitor flow, such as
the negative impact of anti-
mainland protests that had
rocked Hong Kong earlier,
and relaxed visa restrictions
for mainland travelers to other
tourist destinations.
“Some mainland tourists
have been discouraged by
the city’s unfriendliness — an
attitude which may have been
exaggerated. They feel they’re
more welcome in other (desti-
nations),” he says.
Besides, an uncertain macro
environment and a stronger
US dollar have also hit tour-
5,000,000 Number of Chinese mainland visitor arrivals
in Hong Kong since June 2015
4,600,000
4,550,148
4,200,000
3,845,273
3,800,000
3,509,432
3,400,000
3,333,433
3,000,000
June July Aug
2015
ism from the mainland. “But
these are just short-term draw-
backs.”
Latest statistics show that
total visitor arrivals in the SAR
fell 7.4 percent in the first half
of this year, compared wit the
same period last year, with
the number of mainland tour-
ists down 3.8 percent in June,
while visitor arrivals from
Northeast Asia were up nearly
20 percent.
Hong Kong’s amusement
parks have not been spared by
the slump. As mainland visi-
tors make up more than half
of ticket sales, Ocean Park saw
a 14-percent dip in the number
of visitors last year, compared
with 2014 — the first decline
since 2008 — while Hong
Kong Disneyland posted a
9-percent decline in mainland
tourists.
Li says he considers the
slowdown normal, especially
after the upsurge in mainland
tourist arrivals here in the past
five years.
Hong Kong’s now a “bar-
gain destination” for mainland
visitors as many local tourist
spots and hotels are offering
tempting discounts amid the
gloom. The picture should
also improve, he says, with
the opening of the soon-to-be-
completed Hong Kong-Zhu-
hai-Macao Bridge and Hong
Kong’s high-speed railway
linking southern China.
“Convenient transporta-
tion is vital to every amuse-
ment park,” Li says, adding he
expects improved MTR links
to encourage more local visi-
tors from Kowloon and the
New Territories to visit the
parks.
Ocean Park, which opened
amid great fanfare in 1977
and covering an area of more
4,043,000
3,857,524
3,721,049
3,512,410
3,367,736
3,017,173
Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan
2016
Matthias Li Sing-chung, chief executive of Ocean Park, believes
that the rapid growth in entertainment parks on the Chinese
mainland will not deal a big blow to Ocean Park’s business.
Instead, it would create a trend of visiting theme parks. PARKER
ZHENG / CHINA DAILY
than 900,000 square meters
on southern Hong Kong
Island, aims to shore up local
attendance which, currently,
accounts for more than 30
percent of the total number
of visitors. “It’s a high propor-
tion if you compare it with
other theme parks,” remarks
Li, adding that “freshness” is
the key to getting local visitors
to return.
On the top of the five major
annual events — the Spring
Festival, Easter, the summer
holidays, Halloween and
Christmas — the theme park
will focus on more innovative
attractions and events to enter-
tain local visitors, for whom it
was built in the first place.
“Visitors want to go to plac-
es where local people enjoy as
well,” emphasizes Li.
Ocean Park is also looking
afar — to other Asian markets
to attract more visitors, includ-
ing the Association of South-
east Asian Nations, which is
home to more than 600 mil-
lion people.
Li notes there has been an
increase in the number of
Indonesian and Filipino visi-
tors to the park.
Apart from dwindling tour-
ist numbers, Ocean Park faces
stiff competition from theme
parks across the border and
Source: Hong Kong Tourism Board
3,459,000
3,322,758
3,206,043
Feb Mar Apr May June
other Asian countries. By 2018,
Universal Beijing, 21st Cen-
tury Fox World Malaysia, Six
Flags, multiple new Legolands,
Wanda theme parks and many
smaller peers will be popping
up across the region.
Li, who had held various
positions at Ocean Park for
more than two decades, aims
to roll out new attractions and
infrastructure, including new
hotels and a perennial water
park — almost 20 years after
a previous one closed — and
turn the park into a regional
resort which will be the first
of its kind in Southeast Asia
that’s built on a hill slope next
to the sea.
He believes that the rapid
growth in entertainment parks
on the Chinese mainland will
not deal a big blow to Ocean
Park’s business. Instead, it
would create a trend of visit-
ing theme parks.
“They’ll come to Ocean Park
as they know we are at the top
of the game.” Li reckons. “We’re
proud of being the trendsetter
for amusement parks in Asia.”
Apart from the attractions
and rides, edutainment is what
distinguishes Ocean Park from
its competitors. Visitors can
learn more about the ani-
mals and the threats they face
through the posters at galler-
ies and aquariums. Trainers
are also available to talk about
animals both in captivity and
in the wild.
The Ocean Park Academy
— the park’s educational arm
— offers more than 30 differ-
ent courses for children and
teachers. Students can learn
about animals, conservation,
the natural environment and
even Chinese culture by tak-
ing part in the activities and
see the real life animals and
resources in the park.
“I hope visitors can have
not only a lot of fun here, but
also learn something about
animals and conservation,”
says Li. “This is what makes
us unique in Hong Kong, if not
Asia.”
EARNINGS
Li companies rake
in higher profits
By BLOOMBERG in Hong Kong
Ty c o o n L i K a - s h i n g ’s
two main companies — CK
Hutchison Holdings and
Cheung Kong Property Hold-
ings — saw higher earnings
in the first half of the year,
fueled by growth from the
group’s European telecom-
munications business and
property sales on the Chinese
mainland.
Profits, excluding earnings
from discontinued opera-
tions, rose 1.9 percent from
a year earlier to HK$15.2
billion at CK Hutchison, Li’s
main holding company, while
Cheung Kong Property saw
underlying profit climb 51
percent to HK$8.3 billion.
Yet headwinds abound.
Li, who had urged Britons
to vote in favor of staying in
the European Union (EU),
is now bracing for the eco-
nomic fallout from Brexit as
CK Hutchison counts the UK
as its biggest earnings con-
tributor. In the Hong Kong
property market, prices and
transactions have dropped
amid a slowing economy and
government efforts to make
housing more affordable.
Earlier this month, the
Bank of England cut the
nation’s benchmark interest
rate and expanded a stimu-
lus plan as it prepares for a
downturn. The central bank
OUTSIDE THE BOX
The proposed overhaul of the city’s listing regime by the Securities and Futures Commission has
caused a stir in the market. Experts have urged both sides to explain their positions to the public as the
issue would have a far-reaching impact on the equity market in which many have invested their savings.
PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY
Watchdog should have no fear
telling the public the true story
PETER LIANG
Most reporters know that
anecdotes can make their sto-
ries a better read. That’s because
relevant accounts of real people
doing real things can help read-
ers better understand the issues
involved and appreciate their
gravity in real life.
This is a journalism lesson
that businesspeople can benefit
from. A case in point is the IPO
(initial public offering) reform
proposal that pits the watchdog
agency Securities and Futures
Commission (SFC) against
powerful interests in the stock
exchange.
The proposed reform that
would involve the SFC in
the early stages of the IPO
approval process must be rati-
fied by the board of directors
of Hong Kong Exchanges and
Clearing (HKEx) — a publicly
traded company which has the
monopoly from the govern-
ment to operate the city’s only
stock exchange and its clearing
facilities.
Some leading members have
publicly opposed the overhaul
plan, fearing it would give the
regulators unnecessary power
of intervention in the IPO mar-
ket, which is a major source of
income for HKEx and its mem-
also cut its economic growth
forecast for next year and
2018, citing concerns about
weaker investment and con-
sumption.
“The UK’s withdrawal from
the EU will bring with it con-
siderable challenges both for
the UK and Europe for at
least the next two to three
years,” Li said in CK Hutchi-
son’s earnings statement.
“Macroeconomic and
geopolitical uncertainties,
together with fragile market
sentiment, could potential-
ly lead to a less sustainable
recovery as volatilities in the
equity, commodity and cur-
rency markets are likely to
persist in the second half of
2016,” he said.
Li’s attempts to cut his reli-
ance on the UK hit an obstacle
on Thursday after the Austra-
lian government signaled it
will block a bid by his Cheung
Kong Infrastructure Holdings
for a local electricity distribu-
tor. The company has a week
to submit a revised offer.
Australia’s decision is the
latest in a series of setbacks in
the past few months for Hong
Kong’s richest man, whose
business empire sprawls
across energy to infrastruc-
ture and telecommunica-
tions. A plan to merge his UK
business with Telefonica’s O2
was blocked by regulators
in May, months after Hong
In the tussle, both
sides have ignored
public interests in
the issue which can
have a far-reaching
impact on the se-
curities market ...
(and) in a wider
scope, Hong Kong’s
reputation as an in-
ternational financial
center.”
bers. The regulator countered
by saying that the defiant stock
exchange members have failed
to understand the purpose of
the planned reform which only
seeks to improve communica-
tion between HKEx and the
SFC.
In the tussle, both sides have
ignored public interests in the
issue which can have a far-
reaching impact on the secu-
rities market in which many
people have invested their
savings and, in a wider scope,
Macroeconomic
and geopolitical un-
certainties, together
with fragile market
sentiment, could
potentially lead to
a less sustainable
recovery as vola-
tilities in the equity,
commodity and cur-
rency markets are
likely to persist in
the second half of
2016.”
Li Ka-shing, chairman of CK
Hutchison Holdings and Cheung Kong
Property Holdings
0.75 percent
decrease in the share price of
CK Hutchison Holdings at the
close of trading on Thursday
Kong minority shareholders
blocked the $12.4-billion buy-
out offer for his Power Assets
unit.
The share prices of CK
Hutchison Holdings and
Cheung Kong Property Hold-
ings dropped 0.75 percent
and 1.3 percent, respectively,
on Thursday, while the Hang
Seng Index added 1.16 per-
cent.
Hong Kong’s reputation as an
international financial center.
Members of the public are not
interested in both sides’ argu-
ments, and improvement in
communication means abso-
lutely nothing to them.
What they want to know is
whether the proposed reform
can improve on the existing
arrangement in weeding out
under-qualified companies
from obtaining a listing on
the local bourse. The SFC can
greatly strengthen its argu-
ment for reform by citing
specific examples of abuse to
illustrate the system’s short-
comings.
Such examples shouldn’t
be hard to find. The shares of
many companies had shot up
multiple times compared to
their debut prices, only to fall
precipitously in ensuing trad-
ing sessions. There are compa-
nies known to have sought a
flotation for the sole purpose of
offering themselves as a take-
over target for backdoor listings
by other companies that aren’t
qualified under the normal IPO
channels.
The proposed IPO system
overhaul should be supported
by the public who have a stake
in it. The SFC shouldn’t be
afraid to tell them the story as
it is.