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Striding on together - Club makes total direct return of HK$30.5 billion to the community in 2016/17

08/31/2017

At the Annual General Meeting of The Hong Kong Jockey Club today (31 August), Voting Members re-elected four Stewards to the Board to serve further terms of three years each. They are Dr Simon S O Ip GBS CBE JP, Mr Lester C H Kwok JP, Dr Eric Li Ka Cheung GBS OBE JP, and Mrs Margaret Leung SBS JP.

Following the meeting, the new Board of Stewards re-elected Dr Simon S O Ip GBS CBE JP as Chairman and Mr Anthony W K Chow SBS JP as Deputy Chairman for 2017/18.

It was another record-breaking year for the Club and for the support it provides to the community. Overall turnover for the 2016/17 financial year (ended 30 June 2017) was HK$216.5 billion, up 6.8%. The Club made another record return to the Government of HK$21.7 billion in duty and profits tax and contributed HK$1.2 billion to the Lotteries Fund. Charity donations achieved a new record of HK$4.1 billion. Together with a special donation of HK$3.5 billion for the construction of the Hong Kong Palace Museum in celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Hong Kong SAR, total charity donations were HK$7.6 billion.

Adding together betting and lottery duty, profits tax, contributions to the Lotteries Fund and charity donations, the Club's total direct return to the community in 2016/17 was a record HK$30.5 billion, up 16.9% on 2015/16 (HK$26.1 billion).

Unique business model generates results for the betterment of our society

Club Chairman Dr Simon S O Ip explained that these achievements are made possible by the Club's unique integrated business model of world-class racing and racecourse entertainment, a membership club, responsible sports wagering and lottery, and charities and community contribution.  "This model encapsulates the multiple ways in which the Club creates economic and social value," he said.

To reflect its world-class racing and community contribution, the Club has reformulated its purpose statement, which reads "As a world-class racing club, we act continuously for the betterment of our society". Underpinning this purpose are the Club's core values of world-class leadership, uncompromising integrity, continuous development, and serving the community.

Dr Ip explained that it is the synergy of the Club's purpose, core values and business model, all working together, which enables the Club to contribute to the betterment of our society.

Charity donations serve the broad range of community needs

With additional resources available as a result of the Club's improved business performance, the Club is now deepening its community role. In particular, while continuing to serve the broad range of community needs, it is focusing on four strategic areas: youth; the elderly; sports; and arts, culture and heritage.

In terms of arts, culture and heritage, two projects in particular – the revitalisation of the Central Police Station compound and the new Hong Kong Palace Museum – will make a significant contribution to Hong Kong's cultural landscape.

Dr Ip stressed that the Club's support for these four strategic areas, and for the Hong Kong Palace Museum, will not affect its regular charity donations. In fact, regular charity donations via the Charities Trust increased by 5.3% to HK$4.1 billion this year, supporting a total of 215 charitable and community projects.

World-class racing and racecourse entertainment globally recognised

The Club's record return to the community in 2016/17 reflects both the quality of its world-class racing and the strong performance of its responsible sports wagering and lottery services. Racing turnover for the financial year was up by 7.9% to HK$115.8 billion. Football turnover was up by 6.8% to HK$92.7 billion, while only the Mark Six saw a decline, with turnover down 6.2% to HK$8.0 billion.

This performance is the result of a long-term strategy to position Hong Kong as a centre of world-class racing, which last season saw all 11 of the Club's eligible international Group 1 races feature in the 2016 World's Top 100 Group 1 Races. Of these, nine were in the top 50 and two were in the top 20. Hong Kong-trained horses also set a new record, with 26 in the World's Best Racehorse rankings. All of this was achieved in the absence of a breeding industry and despite Hong Kong having just 0.7% of the world's horses in training and 0.6% of the world's races.

Essential to the Club's strategy has been an attractive pool of prize money, which has incentivised owners to invest in quality horses and attracted top horses from overseas to race in Hong Kong. Next season, prize money will increase to HK$1.16 billion, with Sha Tin being home to the world's richest Group 1 races on turf at 2000m, 1600m and 1200m.

Equally important has been a transformation of the customer experience over the last ten years. This has involved, amongst other initiatives, a HK$6.7 billion investment to revitalise both racecourses. As a result, racecourse visits in the 2016/17 season exceeded two million for the fifth successive season.

Commingling expansion overseas realises potential of Hong Kong's racing product

The clearest measure of the strength of Hong Kong racing is the huge interest it is attracting overseas. In the 2016/17 season, turnover from commingling, under which overseas fans bet on Hong Kong racing with overseas partners, was HK$6.5 billion - an 87.1% increase on last season and representing 5.5% of total racing turnover. The number of commingling partners increased to 34.  

Club CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges attributed the encouraging performance of commingling to the Club's strategic investment in boosting the standard of Hong Kong racing.  "It must be stressed that commingling would not have been possible without the Club's long-term commitment to world-class racing, with overseas fans attracted by the competiveness and quality of our racing, the depth of our wagering pools, the comprehensiveness of our racing information and by our reputation for the highest standards of integrity," he said.

Striding On, with a vision for the future

Looking to the future, the Club will continue investing in its world-class racing. Most notably, the third quarter of 2018 will see the opening of the Conghua Training Centre (CTC) in Guangdong, featuring a state-of-the-art veterinary clinic and dedicated training, spelling and rehabilitation facilities. Operationally, Sha Tin will remain the main centre for the training of Hong Kong racehorses.  A major renovation of the Sha Tin stables complex will be implemented progressively once CTC is open. This will help further elevate the standard of Hong Kong racing.  

Summing up, Dr Ip reaffirmed the Club's commitment to its purpose of acting for the betterment of society through its integrated business model. He said, "We will continue investing in racing facilities and technology in order to meet the expectations of customers. Above all, we will ensure that the income generated through racing and wagering continues to serve the needs of our community."
The Hong Kong Jockey Club's 2016/17 Annual Report can be downloaded from the HKJC website at corporate.hkjc.com/corporate/english/history-and-reports/annual-16-17.aspx

The Hong Kong Jockey Club
Founded in 1884, The Hong Kong Jockey Club is a world-class racing club that acts continuously for the betterment of our society. The Club has a unique integrated business model, comprising racing and racecourse entertainment, a membership club, responsible sports wagering and lottery, and charities and community contribution. Through this model, the Club generates economic and social value for the community and supports the Government in combatting illegal gambling. In 2016/17, the Club's total direct return to the community was HK$30.5 billion. It is Hong Kong's largest single taxpayer, one of the city's major employers and one of the world's top ten charity donors. The Club is always "riding high together for a better future" with the people of Hong Kong. 

Attachment : Results summary of The Hong Kong Jockey Club 2016/17