Hong Kong’s West Kowloon arts hub seeks US$1 billion in first bond sale to fund operations

The loss-making authority that manages Hong Kong’s West Kowloon arts hub will sell bonds for the first time, aimed at raising up to US$1 billion to fund its operations.According to documents submitted to Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing on Thursday, the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority appointed the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation and Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) as arrangers for the medium-term note programme.This will mark the first time the authority, which manages the West Kowloon Cultural District, has tapped the fixed-income debt market.The arts hub has relied on ticketing revenue from museums, corporate sponsorship and commercial income, in addition to bank loans.The authority averted a financial crisis in 2024 when the government granted it the right to sell residential properties on site, after repeated warnings that its HK$21.6 billion (US$2.7 billion) endowment from 2008 was expected to run out by mid-2025.As the first step towards issuing bonds, the authority created the programme, which will allow it to issue them in series and tranches.