Sino Group and its sister company, Far East Organization, have launched the highly anticipated The Reserve Residences in Singapore. Located in the heart of Bukit Timah and at the foothills of the Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, The Reserve Residences is a mixed-use development integrated with a transport hub and retail mall in the vicinity. Residents enjoy easy access to food, retail and community spaces, as well as outdoor activities. Market feedback has been very positive, with more than 96 per cent of the units sold.

The development is atop shopping mall Bukit V, and is minutes’ walk from Bukit Timah Market and Food Centre and the restaurants along Cheong Chin Nam Road. Holland Village and Orchard Road Shopping Belt are also within close reach, as are sought-after schools and tertiary institutions such as Methodist Girls’ School and Pei Hwa Presbyterian Primary School. Transport options abound, with the development amalgamated with the upcoming bus interchange and offering direct access to Beauty World MRT Station, one stop away from the future Cross Island Line.

Sino Group initiated the Tree Recycling / Upcycling Programme in Hong Kong in 2018 to make the most of our natural resources. The Group works with arborists and community partners to recycle and upcycle trees on construction sites and premises under management. Trunks, branches and twigs collected are inspected to select pest- and disease-free timber, then sorted and sent for processing for recycling or upcycling.

Instead of being sent to landfills, wood is chipped and processed into mulch for gardens and landscaped areas or dried for upcycling into objects such as fencing, planters, furniture and artwork in partnership with artists, tenants, residents, customers and staff.

Since the programme’s launch, close to 600 trees have been collected, with 306 cubic metres of mulch and compost produced. We are now expanding the efforts to 30 sites and developments.

The Group has come on board as a Science-aligned Signatory of the Net-zero Carbon Charter initiated by the Business Environment Council (BEC) to accelerate net-zero actions. The Group will report its progress in accordance with BEC guidelines annually.

Let’s work towards a sustainable future for Hong Kong together.

Sino Group has integrated sustainability into all aspects of its business and operations, from architectural planning to green management. Olympian City in West Kowloon is exemplary of the Group’s efforts to build a more sustainable community — let’s take a closer look at the work done.

Stepping into the shopping mall, the skylights in the Central Atrium and Concourse are covered by solar control films that lower indoor temperature. The mall features a fully water-cooled air conditioning system that enables further energy saving.

A smart management platform, PlantPro, is being deployed at Olympian City 3, achieving a saving of more than 370,000 kWh in electricity consumption each year. A separate photovoltaic system consisting of 178 rooftop panels helps us to reduce our use of fossil fuels. Another off-grid photovoltaic system is fitted with a charging station for electric vehicles, encouraging use of these more sustainable models.

Additional benefits of the smart system include an early fault detection and warning function that enables preventive maintenance, as well as comprehensive data analyses to optimise system performance.

Outside the mall, Greenery Bridges can lower the indoor temperature by 1–2°C for a further saving on air conditioning. Landscaping accounts for 28 per cent of the site area, helping to clean the surrounding air as well as providing a calming vista for visitors. The thoughtful landscaping includes a smart monitoring system that provides real-time information on tree health. The surrounding area of the mall is also paved with a sustainable material, EcoBricks, upcycled from plastic waste without harmful emissions or pollutants during the upcycling process, presenting a viable circular economy solution to urban waste. The two-phase project at Olympian City has been upcycled from 16 tonnes of plastic waste, equivalent to 1.6 million plastic bottles.

The management team partners with tenants on green leases and green fit-out. The team has also launched initiatives such as a Green Hub for book donations and community recycling of goods. Smart food donation machines in collaboration with local charity Food Angel encourage visitors to support the less privileged in our t, while smart recycling stations for cartons and bottles further cut down on waste. Waste has also been reduced via an improved garbage compactor, which has decreased the volume to send to landfills, cutting our carbon dioxide emissions by 16 tonnes per year.

Olympian City has been recognised at multiple award schemes thanks to this array of green features. It has received BEAM Plus v2.0 platinum certification from the Hong Kong Green Building Council, has been recognised by the Hong Kong Green Organization and has been named a CLP Energy-Saving Enterprise. Most recently, it won the Grand Award of the Existing Buildings Category—Facilities Management at the prestigious Green Building Award 2023.

Sinovation, our corporate incubation programme, is integral to fostering innovation among colleagues, encouraging innovative ideas for efficiency and quality improvements that can benefit our operations and the wider community. The third edition, focusing on energy saving, received more than 40 entries from colleagues proposing ways to enhance energy efficiency in our day-to-day operations. Five teams were shortlisted, and had the opportunity to present their ideas to management at the final presentation session.

Organised by Sino Group and Hongkong Land, PropXTech is a proptech acceleration programme that brings start-ups and established companies from around the world together to advance technological applications for the long-term and sustainable development of the real estate industry. The latest edition attracted more than 3,000 applications from 70 countries and territories, with ten finalists invited to present their solutions and business plans to industry professionals and investors on Showcase Day.

Participants needed to develop solutions that prioritise sustainability and digitalisation in property development and management in five categories, namely Green Tech; Smart Building; Smart City; Smart Construction; and Customer Engagement.

Showcase Day saw the ten finalists, including six from Hong Kong and one each from Germany, Israel, The Netherlands and Singapore, present to more than 100 industry professionals, including all 16 members of the Hong Kong PropTech Alliance, which is presided over by Sino Group and Hongkong Land. The innovations span a wide range of ideas, such as AI-powered recycling bins to automate waste sorting; noise reduction technology; self-healing concrete; an AI-based, chemical-free maintenance and cleaning system; the replacement of concrete by plastic waste; a mobile AR app to simplify facilities management; and preventive maintenance solutions to optimise heating, ventilation and air conditioning.

‘Hong Kong is in a unique position with advantages that are conducive to pooling I&T talents and enterprises from around the globe,’ said Ir Andrew Young, Consultant (Innovation) of Sino Group. ‘Sino Group fully supports the development of the I&T ecosystem in Hong Kong and is committed to nurturing innovation and technology talents to support Hong Kong’s development into an international innovation and technology hub. The finalists show promising potential, and we look forward to creating positive impact together.’

Gold Coast Motor Festival, Hong Kong’s premier motor celebration, has returned in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Hong Kong Gold Coast. The weekend-long motoring event presented an impressive line-up of prized classic and collector cars as well as yachts from Hong Kong and around the world in addition to an array of family-friendly entertainment and gourmet dining offers.

The exhibition celebrated the rich history, craftsmanship, power and technological advancements of automobiles. Car enthusiasts could view around 100 prized classic and collector cars, generously provided by local and international collectors. Highlights of the event include the legendary McLaren F1, Mercedes CLK GTR and Porsche 911 GT1 from the 1990s, which were displayed together in Hong Kong for the first time. Car enthusiasts also witnessed the Asia-Pacific public debut of prestigious cars presented by Pagani Automobili and Gunther Werks.

Gold Coast Motor Festival continued to partner with The Community Chest of Hong Kong. The funds raised from the Charity Drive, and a portion of the event’s ticket proceeds, have been donated to The Community Chest of Hong Kong. Underprivileged families, invited through community partners, joined an exclusive ride on an open-top bus to create lasting memories.

Festival-goers enjoyed a fun-filled weekend that has put Hong Kong on the international motoring calendar.

Victoria Harbour has taken centre stage with the second edition of large-scale outdoor art programme Art@Harbour. Spearheaded by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the programme encompasses five projects on both sides of Hong Kong’s iconic harbour, including the ‘teamLab: Continuous’ exhibition featuring resonating, colourful ovoids.

In Tsim Sha Tsui, Sino Group worked with local art collective HKWALLS on digital pyrotechnics entitled Chromaflux, featuring motion pictures by five groups of local and international artists from Germany, France, the Czech Republic and Hong Kong on the Sino LuminArt Façade, which spans the Tsim Sha Tsui Centre and Empire Centre. The unique site-specific motion pictures showcase a fusion of vibrant colours, dynamic visuals and innovative digital prowess, delivering a captivating experience that blends art, technology and cultural diversity.