Business | Esther Yu 01-20
The Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority will move its offices from the International Commerce Centre to a complex in Kwai Chung, saving HK$50 million a year.
The ICC and the complex, the Kowloon Commerce Centre, are both owned by Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016), but rents in the two places differ starkly.
Estate agents said rent at the ICC is more than HK$60 per square foot, while that in the Kowloon Commerce Centre is HK$25 psf.
"We are moving there to improve efficiency since the [authority's] three offices are to be combined," said executive director Cheng Yan-chee.
He said the ICC was "barren" before they moved in eight years ago. Rents have risen a lot since then, and that is part of the reason the authority is moving out.
The three current offices in Central, Kwai Fong and ICC have a combined floor area of about 80,000 sq ft, while the area of the three floors at the new location is 10,000 sq ft less. But in the face of global economic uncertainties, Cheng believes the move will save costs and the location is also more convenient to staff.
Meanwhile, starting from next month, retiring workers can take out their benefits from their MPF accounts in separate installments instead of the whole amount at once.
Account holders can withdraw funds in installments free of charge for the first four times each year from February 1. The authority said two-thirds of the funds allow account holders to take out cash unlimited times. It has no estimation of how many people will do so, saying it depends very much on personal choice and the economic environment.
As for the progress on introducing the core fund, which requires a default plan from each of the 15 MPF trustees with a capped management fee of 0.75 percent, Cheng said it is expected to be approved by the Legislative Council during the first quarter. The plan will be launched by the end of the year at the earliest.
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