Hong Kong’s cash-strapped flagship arts district inks HK$3 billion loan with partially state-owned bank

2026-02-13 - 10:07

The managing authority of Hong Kong’s cash-strapped flagship arts hub has signed a HK$3 billion loan with the partially state-owned bank in a move it says will enhance its “financial flexibility.” The M+ museum at the West Kowloon Cultural District, on September 9, 2025. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. West Kowloon Cultural District Authority (WKCDA) Chair Bernard Chan said in a Friday statement that the HK$3 billion, ten-year committed banking facility with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) would help the lossmaking arts district shore up its finances. “This facility will provide stable financial resources and liquidity for WKCDA to fulfil its public missions and meet future development needs, a crucial step towards achieving long-term financial sustainability for WestK,” Chan said. The ten-year term “far exceeds” the terms of similar loans offered to other public organisations, “fully reflecting the market’s confidence in the long-term development” of the arts hub, Chan added. The deal demonstrates the bank’s confidence in the authority’s “prudent financial management, robust revenue-generation and commercialisation strategies” as well as the long-term development prospects of the arts hub, the statement read. In the red WKCD recorded a HK$769 million operating deficit in the 2024-25 fiscal year, according to its annual reports, a one-third increase compared with the HK$578 million shortfall in the 2023-24 fiscal year. The 2024-25 deficit marked the arts hub’s sixth year in the red. People on the promenade of the West Kowloon Cultural District on July 1, 2023. Photo: Irene Chan/HKFP. Last year, the managing body said selling off land for residential developments and income from a new performing arts centre could help it become financially stable, without reliance on the government. Along with the HK$3 billion facility, the authority “is steadily advancing its key strategies to address the short and medium-term cashflow pressure.” Chairman and Executive Director of ICBC (Asia) Liu Yagen said that the partially state-owned bank and the arts hub “aim to inject robust financial momentum into the cultural soft power of both Hong Kong and the country.” “We will support the Authority to leverage WestK’s unique strengths as a world-class cultural hub, thereby fostering the long-term artistic and cultural growth in Hong Kong and across the country,” Liu said. In 2022, the authority secured a HK$4 billion loan from 10 banks, which was later increased to HK$5 billion in 2024. The loan is set to mature in 2027.