It seems like yesterday when we gathered here for the opening of the Conference and now it is time to draw to a close the formal session of the Conference.

Over the last two-and-a-half days, we have browsed over the housing situation in 12 countries and examined a wide range of issues in the areas of housing finance and administration, estate management and maintenance, and housing design, technology and planning. The programme is compact and substantial.

Within the time available for the summing up, I can hardly do full justice to the many speakers for the numerous good ideas and practices which have been included in their papers, and the discussions in the panel sessions.

I shall start from where we began at the Keynote Session -- the Global Shelter Strategy which provides the backdrop to the Conference, and then highlight three themes which dominate the public housing policy agenda of many of the countries represented here, namely, a growing trend towards privatisation, the quest for continuous improvement to keep up with changing needs and rising expectations, and residents' participation in housing management.

Key Messages from the Global Shelter Strategy

First, let me recap the Global Shelter Strategy for the Year 2000 which advocates a re-orientation of the role of governments from being a direct provider to being an enabler and facilitator in housing production.

Since the Strategy was endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 1988, there has been increasing awareness and consensus at the international level that :

• the housing sector is a productive sector of the economy, and that the performance of the housing sector is inextricably linked to the broader economy. This calls for integration of the housing strategy with the overall national economic development strategy, and the establishment of appropriate institutions to facilitate the integration;

• the tendency to treat housing as a social welfare provision has led governments to subsidise indiscriminately more and better housing. The trend is financially unsustainable and would stifle private investment in housing. The lesson here is to target subsidies at an affordable level, and at those who are most in need;

• public bureaucracies, however well-intentioned, face a constant struggle to improve cost-efficiency and responsiveness within the constraints of rules and regulations. More appropriately, governments should play an enabling, facilitating and coordinating role in canvassing and mobilising the expertise and resources of all players in the housing production and improvement processes; and

• in moving from a general enabling strategy toward country-specific strategies; it is necessary to recognise differences in strategic priorities, depending on a country's level of economic and institutional development, and its specific social and economic conditions. There is a danger in transplanting policies and strategies from another territory without detailed analysis of their suitability to local circumstances.

There are many examples, both positive and negative, to support these four themes. The "enabling index" which Dr Stephen Mayo has compiled provides a diagnostic tool to assess where we stand in terms of our market friendliness, and a good starting point to consider enabling strategies.

Trend of Privatisation

It does not require close scrutiny to detect a growing trend of privatisation across countries in terms of home ownership, provision of management services and housing production.

(a) Home Ownership

The key drivers for home ownership arise out of ideological and/or financial considerations.

With an owner-occupancy rate of 90%, Singapore is a glaring example of success in home ownership, with strong financial backing from the Central Provident Fund, and a decision to shift production from rental to home ownership flats under a visionary national development strategy.

The housing reform in China, which started in early 1990's, also emphasises home ownership and commercialisation of the housing sector. The traditional treatment of housing as an employment benefit has created a heavy financial drain and a heavy recurrent burden for state-owned enterprises in China, resulting in a shortage of funds for housing production and improvement. There are major challenges ahead to re-structure the housing delivery and financing systems. The Chinese experience demonstrates the broad linkages between the housing sector and the broader economy, and complementary changes to the social security, and monetary systems required to support the housing reform.

Both China and UK have attempted, with varying degrees of success, to privatise the public housing stock by selling to sitting tenants. The decision whether or not to buy has a lot to do with the quality of the flats for sale, the economic status of the prospective buyer, and the perceived benefits of home ownership vis-a-vis renting. The UK experience shows, on the positive side, a welcome increase in the home ownership rate. It also throws up problems of the saleability of former state-owned apartments in the free market. In a mixed ownership situation, there is constant tension between tenants and owners over the level of maintenance and management services, and funding responsibilities. These experiences are worthy of our reference but will require more careful analysis as to their transferability to Hong Kong or anywhere else.

(b) Privatisation of Management Services

A second area of privatisation is in the delivery of management services by property management agents. The benefits are greater flexibility and less bureaucracy, which in turn help to improve economy, efficiency and effectiveness. There are many successful examples around the world which do not require elaboration. More recently, Hong Kong has launched a pilot scheme to contract out the management services of public rental housing, with tenancy control remaining in the hands of the Housing Department. We are hopeful that the scheme will be successful in improving cost-efficiency and quality of service overall.

(c) Housing Production

The third area of privatisation is in housing production. Increasingly, governments have involved the private sector in social housing production through the provision of financial incentives, such as low interest loans, building grants and tax relief; removing administrative hurdles, and simplifying approval processes etc. to foster a public-private partnership in housing production. In Hong Kong, guaranteed sale at pre-determined prices at the time of land grant provides risk-free investment opportunities for private developers in public housing production.

Public-private partnership in housing production is consistent with the Global Shelter Strategy, the impact of which, however, remains to be assessed in a more systematic manner, in terms of the volume of production, the quality standards, the cost-benefit, delivery of the finished products to the target groups, and the impact on the private housing market.

The Quest for Quality

It is apparent from the country presentations that many of our public housing programmes have had a humble origin, starting with the provision of basic shelters. Some have responded to emergency needs due to catastrophes, or a sudden influx of population. Over the years, significant improvements have been made in the design and maintenance of buildings, the space provision, comprehensive development of a community with ancillary services and facilities, greater emphasis on the quality of the environment, and more attention to a "green" housing policy. Modern technologies have opened up a whole new range of opportunities for further improvements in design and maintenance, with a reduction in the life-cycle cost of buildings. But, we also run the risk of making the older stock of housing obsolescent as new and improved designs appear.

In China, Japan, Singapore, UK and Hong Kong, the aging population has brought about a new challenge. Housing for senior citizens demands more than physical accommodation but also ancillary care and supporting services. The needs also vary with the health condition and mobility of the elderly people. All these suggest that a variety of approaches is needed to cater for individual circumstances.

Britain has a long history of building housing specifically for elderly people. The Bonage Yokohama project in Japan is a distinguished example of all-round provision of services, including financial security, basic and elective services, and arrangements for future nursing care. We, in Hong Kong, have invested in new designs on housing for senior citizens and we look forward to having more exchanges and experience-sharing with other countries in better serving the interests of elderly persons with housing needs.

This summing-up would be incomplete without mention of residents' participation and a more customer-oriented approach to estate management, which have gained momentum in Hong Kong more recently, following the successful examples in UK and Singapore. The perceived benefits of residents' participation are better quality of decision-making, enhanced neighbourliness, improvement in the landlord and tenant relations, and a higher rate of satisfaction among residents.

The challenge ahead is to develop mutual respect and, more importantly, a partnership relationship between housing management and residents, with clearly identified roles and responsibilities. As a society becomes more open and the population more educated, it is only natural that people would want to participate more in decisions which affect them. The Hong Kong Housing Authority is firmly committed to the principles of openness, accountability and transparency.

Conclusion

This three-day Conference has provided a rare opportunity for housing professionals around the world to exchange ideas and share experience. On behalf of the Organising Committee, I thank everyone of you for your participation. Tomorrow, you will have the opportunity to visit and see for yourselves the housing situation in Hong Kong. I hope you will take home with you pleasant memories of Hong Kong and valuable additions to your network of contacts in the housing field.