With all kinds of uncertainties afflicting Hong Kong in the early 1990s, Clement Lau gave serious thought to the possibility of emigration and making his name somewhere else.
Looking back now, he can see rejecting that path was definitely the correct decision. As things turned out, he was in the right place at exactly the right time and, therefore, able to play a leading part in some of the biggest development projects to reshape Hong Kong and other cities across Asia over the past 25 years.
His personal portfolio includes the makeover of Central, work on Singapore’s Marina Bay complex, projects linked to the expansion of Macau’s gaming industry and, more recently, the renovation and redevelopment of urban areas in primary cities in China. But, at root, he puts that success down to two things: a bit of luck and starting off with the right qualification.
“I’m certainly glad I made the decision to stay and develop my career in Hong Kong; that really paid off,” says Lau, the head of development and valuations for commercial property at Hongkong Land. “As a chartered surveyor, I was able to get involved in the transformation of cities, which were changing at a pace never seen before. I caught the uptrend and have enjoyed the party.”
There are three main aspects to his current role. He oversees the company’s investment strategy for developments in Hong Kong and North Asia. He is in charge of annual valuations for the investment portfolio. And he keeps an eye on hotel operations and associated shopping malls to ensure they meet budget.
As the industry evolves, it is also important for him to keep abreast of the issues driving urban renewal, residential sector requirements, and the advances in technology now making “smart city” concepts a reality. All of which is quite a contrast to his own early days growing up in Kowloon.
“I come from an assisted-housing grassroots background, a small flat in Kwun Tong for a family of six,” says Lau, who is also chair of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) Hong Kong Board. “My mother was a housewife and my dad was supervisor in a factory making plastic products in San Po Kong. He only had a few years of school back in China and, when I was small, always told me to study as long as you can to equip yourself for life.”
Taking that advice, Lau won a place at Ying Wa College in Kowloon Tong and, later, with the help of financial support from his parents and an Australian government grant, set off in 1984 for a four-year bachelor of building degree at the University of New South Wales.
The programme included quantity surveying, building economics, urban development, and financial appraisal for property projects. And, subsequently, it opened all kinds of doors.
“I originally chose the course because I’d always been interested n model-related staff – cars and space stations,” he says. “So, I thought, why not build 1:1 models as a career. Also, I’d seen the recession in Hong Kong in the early 1980s and realised people would always need ‘shelter’ for work and homes. So, if I was qualified, I could get a job.”
The course included a six-month stint with a Sydney firm to gain practical experience. For Lau, that meant quantity surveying for low-rise commercial developments plus a new vineyard and farm in the Hunter Valley.
“I took on-site measurements to verify the progress of the contractor and found it fascinating,” he says. “There were no projects like that in Hong Kong.”
He continued to help the firm on a part-time basis while completing his studies, and though a work visa was on offer, opted to return home.
“In Australia, I liked the outdoor lifestyle, but I also saw a lot of industrial action by the trade unions in Sydney and realised it would take a long time to complete any projects,” he says. “If I really wanted to achieve something, I felt Hong Kong would give more choices - and the pace was much faster.”
Accordingly, he joined Hongkong Land in 1988 as a built environment professional and completed his professional qualifications by fulfilling the two-year work requirement to gain chartered status. Despite a few early doubts, the next nine years, dealing mainly with prime residential and commercial buildings in the private sector, were highly instructive.
In 1997, though, wanting a different perspective, Lau moved to the Lands Department as an estate surveyor in the public domain.
“It was a way to complete my training,” he says. “I wanted to understand the concerns and procedures when applications are made to the government and how to provide the right information and approvals.”
That led to a year at the Airport Authority, working on the masterplan and financial proposals for 70- to 80-hectare land grant for a commercial district to support airport operations.
What eventuated was the AsiaWorld-Expo, hotels, the Sky Mall, the cross-border ferry terminal and, for a while, even a nine-hole golf course. But having set things in motion, Lau was lured back to Hongkong Land in 2000, attracted by the chance to revamp the firm‘s flagship buildings in Central, which included the redevelopment of Swire House and a major expansion of retail space in the Landmark.
That paved the way for further major projects in Shanghai, Beijing and around Southeast Asia, but Lau also made time for a succession of voluntary roles and committee posts with the RICS to “pay his dues” to the profession.
“It is important to make a contribution, but doing this also lets me look at things in a different capacity and see how the profession is changing,” he says.
(Photo: Laurence Leung)
