Landlords in Central hope for best, prepare for worst as Occupy looms
Landlords and developers in Central say they will be prepared should the city's main business hub be paralysed by promised protests by the Occupy Central movement. But they have declined to disclose details.
Landlords and developers in Central say they will be prepared should the city's main business hub be paralysed by promised protests by the Occupy Central movement. But they have declined to disclose details.
Hongkong Land, the largest landlord in Central with a prime portfolio of 450,000 square metres of grade-A office and luxury retail premises, said it had been monitoring the development of Occupy and preparing for possible scenarios that might impact its building operations.
"We have taken appropriate security measures, and will work closely with government authorities, including the police, if the situation warrants," the firm said in a statement.
One strategy, apparently, is to not have many staff working in Central.
It will be a blow to our economy if [it draws] hundreds of thousands
Chew Fook Aun, deputy chairman of Lai Sun Development, with offices at AIA Central, said that only senior management worked in Central.
"It won't affect our business as we can communicate with emails," he said. "And the majority of our staff works in our other office in Cheung Sha Wan. But we have been notified by the property management company that more security staff will be deployed in the building to prepare for the worst-scenario" he said.
