NEWS

Hong Kong sets record for highest rent

The city’s property market has done it again. A house on 11 Plantation Road, located on the Peak has been rented out for $1.35 million a month, setting the record for highest rent in Hong Kong. At a whopping 10,804 square feet, the luxury home is one of seven stunning houses and has its own elevator, a private garden, roof and garage and spectacular views of the Hong Kong skyline. The property project is owned by Wharf Holdings, who reportedly have plans to sell four of the seven properties overlooking Victoria Harbour and will attempt to rent the other three houses.

Hotel quarantine walk-a-thon raises $150k

Facing his fourth quarantine in a year, Hong Kong-based journalist Frederik Balfour set a goal to walk 10,000 steps a day while cooped up at the Best Western Plus in Sheung Wan. Throughout his quarantine, Balfour walked a total of 200km and is on a mission to raise $200,000 for the Splash Foundation, a charity that gives foreign domestic workers and underprivileged kids the chance to learn how to swim.“It wasn’t until I was two weeks in that I realised all my pacing was a great way to raise money for charity. I started walking 10,000 steps a day in a room nine paces long and gradually got more and more ambitious.” The $200,000 goal will make it possible for 100 students to take part in Splash Foundation’s free classes.

splashfoundation.org

Students bring solar energy to ESF

Leading the charge in making Hong Kong schools more sustainable, three Renaissance College students set out to bring solar energy to their campus in 2019. Now the English Schools Foundation (ESF) and CLPe Solutions announced that a total of 1,400 solar panels have been installed across eight ESF schools. The three students, Jane Chan, Taylor Chung and Ankita Joshi began the project in 2019 under the Student Sustainability team. They came up with the idea to put their school’s large rooftop area to good use, commissioning designs, negotiating with suppliers and applying for funding. They took it upon themselves to see the project through. As a result, the clean energy created by these newly installed solar panels will reportedly reduce carbon emissions by nearly 280 tonnes within a year. The eight schools include Bradbury, Clearwater Bay, King George V, Kowloon Junior, Renaissance College, Sha Tin College, South Island School and West Island School.

Ben Brown Fine Arts goes large in Southside

The popular art gallery on Pedder Street has recently moved to a larger location in up and coming Wong Chuk Hang. The Gallery was the first Western gallery to take up permanent residence in Pedder Building back in 2009 and was well known for its expertise in 20th century European and American art. Its new location will be featuring an exhibition of Britain’s leading figurative painters, Frank Auerbach and Tony Bevan until April 30.

Cathay Pacific suspends pet transportation until May

Cathay Pacific recently announced that pets travelling as check-in baggage or cargo on flights out of Hong Kong will be unavailable until April 30. Pet owners planning to relocate in the coming months have already found it difficult to book pets on a flight. With even less options, there is a worry many will be left abandoned. “We have temporarily stopped pet shipments. The service may resume again in May, but there will be an update in mid-April,” a spokesperson from Cathay Pacific said.