Annual Report 2022

2022 Annual Report Transport International Holdings Limited 17 KMB recognises the past contributions of senior citizens to society. As many elderly people prefer to take buses, we do our best to give back to them so that they can enjoy their golden years. Among the many initiatives is KMB’s “Finding Missing Elderly” programme, which helps families find their missing seniors suffering from dementia by inputting relevant Octopus Card numbers into KMB’s information system. Tailor- made bus stop poles were donated to local and overseas care homes to assist nursing staff in providing treatments for those with dementia, reducing the chance of them wandering away. Our volunteer club, FRIENDS OF KMB (“FRN”), also paid regular visits to older people living alone, and made constant caring phone calls to convey love to them amid the epidemic. Caring about Our Staff and Promoting Physical and Mental Health Excellent talents are the key to keeping the vitality of an enterprise. During the fifth wave of the epidemic, the Group attached great importance to the health of our staff members. Other than ensuring a safe working environment for frontline staff by providing rapid antigen test kits to all bus captains, outdoor operations staff and maintenance personnel, we also formed a special team to deliver in person anti-epidemic kits to staff who tested positive for COVID-19. The Group cares about the physical and mental health of its staff. During the year, “Health Awareness Month” activities were organised to encourage staff to maintain a healthy lifestyle. KMB also designated every August as the “Appreciation Month”, during which period various activities were held to appreciate all coworkers who performed their duties with dedication and devotion. The Management also visited various KMB workplaces to keep up the morale of staff members, and participated in video-shooting to thank all team members for their contribution and support for the Group. Challenges and Opportunities The pandemic has lasted for three years. Amid an uncertain global economic outlook, an expansion of the local railway network, changing public travel patterns and volatile international oil prices, the bus industry is presented with profound challenges. Nevertheless, following the relaxation of anti-pandemic measures and the reopening of borders announced by the Hong Kong SAR Government, the Group expects the travelling demands of local citizens and visitors to bounce back, with bus patronage and income gradually recovering to pre-COVID levels. LWB was granted a 10-year franchise by the authority last year, which will come into effect on 1 May 2023. In addition, the Group will grasp the opportunities brought by the Greater Bay Area development and the cooperation with the Shenzhen Bus Group, and actively respond to the future development plans of the Northern Metropolis and other new development areas. Given the flexible deployment and high capacity of the bus service, we believe there are exciting opportunities ahead for the Group. The Millennity, our project on How Ming Street, Kwun Tong in the prime location of East Kowloon, comprises two buildings, each providing 20 storeys of grade-A offices, with a gross floor area of around 650,000 square feet, and a base comprising a 10-storey megamall of about 500,000 square feet, which has been pre-rented to a number of international brands and multinational corporations. The shopping mall is expected to commence operation by the end of this year. In addition, the Group is planning to make office and retail space leasing the core of our redevelopment property in Tuen Mun to provide a steady return for our shareholders, as well as long-term and continuous income for the Group. The year 2023 marks the 90 th anniversary of KMB. In its 90 years of growth journey in tandem with Hong Kong’s society, KMB has always been maintaining its original aspiration of serving the public, come rain or come shine. Along with its valuable experience accumulated over the years and the generations of professional transportation talents that it has groomed, KMB will make unremitting efforts and continue to move forward to provide the public with safe, comfortable and value-for-money bus services in the future. Acknowledgement Last year, Hong Kong was hit by the fifth wave of the epidemic and the local society was not short of challenges. The Group’s success in serving the public in a consistently professional manner while doing its part in the territory-wide anti-pandemic campaign hinged on the dedication and commitment of its staff to providing passengers with safe and quality bus services. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the Board of Directors, every staff member of the Group, bus suppliers and all our passengers for their continued support. Norman LEUNG Nai Pang Chairman 23 March 2023