Victor So may prefer to avoid the spotlight, but many critics say the public deserves answers over a policy reversal for single buyer subsidies
EDDIE LEEeddie.lee@scmp.com
PUBLISHED : Monday, 30 November, 2015, 12:02am
UPDATED : Monday, 30 November, 2015, 2:21am
Urban Renewal Authority chairman Victor So (left), with Chief Secretary Carrie Lam earlier this month. Photo: Dickson Lee
Veteran housing executive Victor So Hing-woh's management style has come under fire again.
The recent furore over the Urban Renewal Authority's decision on who can buy subsidised flats at its developments has prompted some to question So's chairmanship at the authority - a quasi-official organisation responsible for speeding up the redevelopment of Hong Kong's decaying urban areas.
"So owes the public an explanation," said Federation of Trade Unions lawmaker Alice Mak Mei-kuen - a non-executive director of the authority - referring to the agency's alleged policy U-turn over the provision of subsidised flats for sale.
READ MORE: Hong Kong's Urban Renewal Authority rethinks criteria for single home buyers
On November 24, the authority announced it would allow single people - instead of only families of two people or more, as under its original plan - to buy units at its De Novo development in Kai Tak.
Neither So nor his management team have clarified the authority's position and So declined an interview with the Post.
This was not the first time So's apparent reticence had drawn criticism.
He was widely accused of failing to address a rift between him and the previous management team at the authority, which became pronounced when the agency's then managing director Iris Tam Siu-ying submitted her resignation in late March, two years into a three-year term.
In an email to all staff, Tam admitted she quit because of irreconcilable differences with So and warned the agency should not act like a developer.
So's response also came in the form of a staff-wide email, in which he fended off criticism he was treating the authority like a for-profit business.
"From time to time, I have bounced raw ideas to colleagues on my 'do more', 'do faster' wish list… With the current situation that nearly all our future redevelopment projects shall incur losses, it is the duty of the board and the management to find ways and means to minimise such losses," he wrote.
In his email, So played down his clash with Tam and said their differences had emerged as they tried "to find innovative solutions to break through the many constraints in our work".
Wu Chi-wai, another non-executive director of the authority and vocal opponent of its about-turn, declined to comment on So's role in the latest scandal or on his chairmanship.
But the Democratic Party lawmaker said he was still alarmed by Tam's abrupt resignation.
"It reflected discord [at the top level] when the number two left like that," said Wu.
Yet few query So's expertise or commitment to solving the city's prolonged housing problems.
So's careers in the public and private sectors span 40 years. Photo: David WongSo, 68, is a qualified surveyor and seasoned housing professional, who held various key positions during his 40 years of service in both the public and private sectors.
He replaced Barry Cheung Chun-yuen as authority chairman in 2013, when Cheung resigned from all his public posts after police began investigating his failed Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange, a commodities exchange.
Like his predecessor, So has chaired almost all of the board meetings since assuming the role. While Cheung was dubbed a top fan of Leung Chun-ying, So is also widely seen as an ally to the chief executive.
But the similarities end there. Unlike Cheung, who was keen to meet the public and promote the authority's strategy for giving the run-down inner-city areas a facelift, So had not given any public speeches as head of the agency, according to its website.
When he assumed the office, So said he would work closely with the authority "in a 'people-first, district-based and public-participatory' approach".
"I share the government's viewpoint that increasing flat supply is the key to the housing problem in Hong Kong," So said.
In a statement issued in January, So said the authority fully supported the chief executive's initiative to increase the supply of subsidised sale units, announced in the policy address.
So's most controversial post was with The Link Real Estate Investment Trust, a company condemned by residents as a "bloodsucker" for raising the rents of public housing estate malls after it acquired them from the Housing Authority in 2005. He resigned in 2007.
Legislator James To Kun-sun, who previously served on the authority's board, said he had a "very bad" impression of So when he led the Housing Society.
"He was stubborn, conservative and callous when it came to residents. He would leave from the back door when people petitioned his office," To said, on So's appointment two years ago.
But City University academic Dr Lawrence Poon Wing-cheung, who serves on the authority's board, said So was a man of ambition.
"He has demonstrated a willingness to take on tough jobs," said Poon, adding members of the authority's board were always able to express their views.
VICTOR SO HING-WOH
Age: 68
Education: Master's degree in Business Administration from Chinese University of Hong Kong
Professional qualifications:
Fellow member of Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
Fellow member of Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors
Fellow member of Hong Kong Institute of Housing
Public service:
Council member of Mental Health Foundation
Member of Hong Kong Housing Society
Business career:
Since 2013: Chairman of the Board of the Urban Renewal Authority
2008-2010: Executive director of Kerry Properties
2004-2007: Chief executive officer of Link Management
2002-2004: Executive director of Sun Hung Kai Properties
1990-2002: Executive director of Hong Kong Housing Society
1981-1990: Property director of MTR Corporation
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1885037/reclusive-victor-so-stays-quiet-urban-renewal-authoritys-u
