An official tendering system designed to curb anti-competitive conduct is powerless to combat engineering firms colluding to manipulate Hong Kong’s lucrative building maintenance market, a public inquiry into the city’s deadliest fire in decades has heard. Testifying on the 21st day of an independent committee’s hearing, three Urban Renewal Authority (URA) officials said on Thursday…
Hong Kong authorities have proposed a legal amendment requiring property owners to attend a mandatory briefing on major renovation projects before voting on procurement resolutions, in a move aimed at curbing bid-rigging following the deadly blaze in Tai Po. Speaking on a radio programme on Saturday, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen…
Hong Kong’s anti-corruption watchdog has charged five people over alleged bribes – including casino chips and red packets – offered to flat owners and owner corporation members during large-scale renovation projects, worth about HK$90 million (US$11.5 million), at three housing estates. The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) on Wednesday disclosed details of its crackdown on…
This story has been made freely available as a public service to our readers. Please consider supporting SCMP’s journalism by subscribing. An independent committee investigating a fire that killed 168 people at a Hong Kong housing estate is holding its third public hearing, with three residents expected to testify after a government lawyer gives an…
Hong Kong’s anti-graft watchdog has arrested 22 people on suspicion of corruption linked to seven building renovation projects worth more than HK$200 million (US$25.6 million). The suspects – 17 men and five women, aged 36 to 78 – included directors and employees of four project consultancy firms and three contractors, as well as some of…
Hong Kong lawmakers have called for greater scrutiny of flat owners’ proxies attending meetings on building management affairs in response to the government’s proposed legal amendments to combat bid-rigging following the deadly Tai Po blaze last year. During a Legislative Council panel meeting on Monday, Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs Alice Mak Mei-kuen said…
Hong Kong’s competition watchdog has cracked down on a new syndicate suspected of bid-rigging in tenders for building maintenance projects across 17 estates and buildings, with the total value of contracts hitting HK$700 million (US$89.7 million). The two-day operation is the first major enforcement action led by the Competition Commission following the deadly Tai Po…
Hong Kong authorities will extend the deadline for mandatory building inspection orders to let homeowners vet contractors’ conviction records on a new platform launching later this year, the city’s development chief said. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho also said on Saturday that the prequalification list on the Urban Renewal Authority’s (URA) electronic platform, currently…
Since taking the helm of the owners’ corporation at her Hong Kong housing estate 12 years ago, Chan Wai-ling has received numerous reports of falling concrete, water leakage and other problems that should have been fixed during multimillion-dollar renovations a decade ago. “Whenever there is a typhoon, water leaks into our homes and damages the…
Hong Kong will launch an enhanced government-backed tendering platform for private building maintenance projects in the second half of the year to curb bid-rigging while tightening scrutiny of contractors, consultants and their leaders. Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho told the media that authorities aimed to launch the upgraded “Smart Tender” platform in the second…