18 District News
Written by: Mo Jiawen
2021-06-19 18:15
Last update date: 2021-06-19 18:35
The FEHD next Monday (21st) launched an open tender for all public market stalls in Hong Kong, claiming to be more effective in reducing the vacancy rate and providing employment opportunities for the grassroots. However, a survey by a concern group found that there are vacant stalls in Hong Kong’s public markets. There are more than 1,800, but the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will only open 304 of them to open tenders. Some of the stalls that were unsuccessful are near gate stalls in Yau Tsim Mong District. The public street market in East Kowloon has even more "zero renting" phenomenon and was selected. Leasing is only allowed for one year and no renewal is allowed, which discourages many aspiring entrepreneurs. The organization urges to explain the criteria for leasing and open more stalls for the public to choose.
The Supervision Public Market Development Alliance announced today the results of its investigation into vacant stalls in public markets.
(Photo by Mo Jiawen)
Tender stalls only account for 17% of the vacant stalls in Hong Kong
The Supervision Public Street Market Development Alliance interviewed 160 citizens from 11 to 17 of this month to express their opinions on the tender and bidding for vacant stalls of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. Some of the interviewees were merchants who had participated in the market and those who aspired to start a business .
The survey found that 54% of respondents are interested in bidding for public market stalls, but as many as 86% believe that there are currently more than 1,800 vacant stalls in public streets in Hong Kong, and it is not enough to open only 304 of them. As many as 70% of the people think that the reduction of stalls from the usual three years to only one year in this open tender is unreasonable.
The survey also found that 83% of the interviewees believed that the bidding mechanism for street market stalls was unreasonable, and 90% of them believed that the introduction of only 304 stalls this time was not enough to alleviate the unemployment situation in Hong Kong.
The spokesman of the Public Market Development Alliance, Yao Lingyin, quoted government data as saying that among the public markets in the 18 districts in Hong Kong, only the North District, Sai Kung and Sha Tin public markets have reached an occupancy rate of over 50%. The remaining vacancies are common, with the most serious vacancies. In Yuen Long, for example, as many as 364 stalls in the market were vacant, but only 14 stalls were rented this time, with a vacancy rate of 33%. East Kowloon public markets such as Wong Tai Sin and Kwun Tong are even more "zero rents." "The number of hires is far less than the vacancy rate, which is fundamentally contrary to the stated goal of alleviating unemployment by the department.
Concerned groups: stall picking criteria are opaque and bidding time hastily
Yao also stated that the department launched the 304 stalls for bidding this time, and the department launched it hastily. It only took 12 days from the announcement to the open bidding, and there was no announcement of the criteria for selecting the stalls. People questioned that "In a perfunctory response to the demands of the government to create job opportunities, even though the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has argued that some vacant stalls will be reserved for the relocation of stalls and the refurbishment of markets under the "Modern Markets Plan", the actual operation is not the case. Taking Yuen Long as an example, the Tung Yick Street Market and Hung Shui Kiu Temporary Market, which have a serious vacancy rate in the district, have not undergone any renovation and tenant relocation, and they have not been included in the public bidding this time.
In the Fa Yuen Street market in Mong Kok, only the cooked food stalls on the third floor will be optimized for the installation of air-conditioning. However, the FEHD will only open for lease a total of seven remote fruit stalls on the second floor. The ground floor of the first floor is near the entrance. Good location stalls and other vacant stalls that are popular among others are not included in the list of stalls in this auction, and no one else can know the reason.
She also pointed out that the lease this time is extremely strange. In the past, there was a three-year long lease and a three-month short lease to test the water temperature for those who are interested in long-term development and entrepreneurship. However, this time the lease is limited to one year and it is stipulated that it cannot be renewed. The loss of the flexibility that should be given to the contract is like "two ends do not reach the shore", which discourages the public's willingness to bid for stalls.
Zhang Yan, spokesperson for the Alliance for Grassroots Markets, suggested that if the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department wants to improve the vacancy rate of the market and promote employment, at least half of the vacant stalls should be opened, and flexible long- and short-term leases and rent concessions should be provided to attract entrepreneurs to bid. We should also refer to the previous practice of tenants in the Tin Shui Wai Tian Mu Street Market, standardize the rent according to the size of the market stalls and allocate stalls through a computerized lottery. The bidding method is more fair than that of the higher bidders. The FEHD is required to review it as soon as possible.
People who want to know the list of vacant street market stalls can visit the official website of FEHD
The five public markets with the highest vacancy rates in Hong Kong:
Ranking Number of Vacant Stalls Vacancy Rate of Rental Stalls
1) Tung Yick Street Market, Yuen Long 446 268 60%
2) Tung Chau Street Temporary Market, Sham Shui Po 244 134 55%
3) Yi On Street Market, Kwun Tong 65 28 43%
4) Kwun Chung Street Market, Yau Tsim Mong 218 78 36%
5) Yuen Long Hung Shui Kiu Temporary Market 172 62 36%
Markets in the areas with the lowest occupancy rates in Hong Kong:
Vacancy rate of vacant stalls in the region Number of stalls for rent
1) Wong Tai Sin District 153 15% 0
2) Kwun Tong District 113 13% 0
3) Southern District 69 9% 0
4) Tai Po 59 11% 1
5) Yuen Long 364 33% 14
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