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Business of climate change
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Hong Kong’s MTR Lab eyes investment opportunities in property tech in bid to help city reach carbon neutrality by 2050

  • Most of the 1,000 or so pitches and opportunities reviewed by MTR Lab are in real estate technology, Managing Director Michael Chan Ting-bond says
  • ‘Property and construction are traditional industries that are undergoing digital transformation’ Kiki Wang, general manager of MTR Lab, says

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MTR Ticket Kaleidoscope displayed at MTR Gallery at MTR Kowloon Station. Photo: Edmond So
Martin Choi
MTR Lab, a subsidiary of Hong Kong’s railway operator MTR Corporation, that invests in technology, is eyeing opportunities in property and construction innovations that are focused on sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors, as it hopes to help the city reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
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A majority of the 1,000 or so pitches and opportunities reviewed by MTR Lab are in real estate technology, Michael Chan Ting-bond, its managing director said on Monday.

“Our investment team has seen more opportunities and new ideas coming from the property and construction and real estate tech side,” said Chan.

“This sector has been quite resilient in both good and bad markets, and different projects have continued to happen. We have seen quite a number of proposals coming from that industry segment.”

Michael Chan Ting-bond, managing director of MTR Lab Company Limited, photographed at MTR Headquarters in Kowloon Bay. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
Michael Chan Ting-bond, managing director of MTR Lab Company Limited, photographed at MTR Headquarters in Kowloon Bay. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
In December, MTR Lab invested in French proptech company WeMaintain to support its expansion in the Hong Kong and Asia-Pacific markets.
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The investment will allow WeMaintain to improve the quality of lift and escalator maintenance with Internet of Things technology and to power greener city development across Asia-Pacific, according to a joint statement. This was also MTR Lab’s first investment in an overseas firm.

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