HKBN Expands Co-Ownership to 871 with Incremental Investment of HK$290 Million for Co-Ownership III Plus

HONG KONG, Feb. 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- HKBN Ltd. ("HKBN" or the "Company"; SEHK stock code: 1310) is ecstatic to announce today that its Co-Ownership Plan III Plus ("CO3+") has garnered overwhelming participation from Talents, including many former WTT and JOS employees who were integrated after being acquired by HKBN. Through this development – the combined number of Co-Owners under Co-Ownership Plans I, II, and III Plus now totals at 871, including 790 with an incremental investment of HK$290 million for the latest CO3+ tranche. HKBN's LUCA (Legal Unfair Competitive Advantage) is that majority of its supervisors-and-above-level Talents are Co-Owners with full alignment for long term shareholder value creation by investing their own savings into buying HKBN shares under the Co-Ownership Plan.

Question – What is the best way to ensure a bridge is built safely? Answer – Simply get the builders and their families to live underneath the bridge after it is built. This is the living-under-the-bridge voluntary commitment made by 871 Co-Owners.

CY Chan, HKBN Co-Owner and Chief Talent & Purpose Officer added some perspective, "Our CO3+ tranche has a 3-year cumulative performance target with bonus share returns up to 1.33 times of the purchased shares by our Co-Owners, plus a 1-year cooling off period before we grant the bonus shares; this 4-year period allows us to focus on long-term value creation beyond the immediate market challenges. The fact that we are investing HK$290 million of our family savings into CO3+ is clear evidence of our confidence in the long-term future of our company."

Unlike legacy practices that give free stock options to a handful of selected senior executives without requiring skin in the game, HKBN's CO3+ is open to its supervisors-and-above-level Talents. Looking at the take-up profile by seniority, it is very clear that HKBN's senior executives are leading by example.

Take-up rate for Co-Ownership 1, 2 and 3+

William Yeung, HKBN Co-Owner and Executive Vice-chairman and NiQ Lai, HKBN Co-Owner and Group CEO concluded, "As 871 leaders, don't listen to our words, rather follow our family bank accounts."

For full CO3+ details, please refer to the announcement:

https://reg.hkbn.net/WwwCMS/upload/pdf/en/e_CO3Plus_CompletionAnnouncement_2020_1stBatchPurchase.pdf

Almira Chan, Co-Owner & Chief Strategy Officer, who now heads our Beyond-HK operations, added, "This current CO3+ Plan is designed for our Hong Kong related business; we will shortly complete our pain/GAIN Co-Ownership for our Beyond-HK business which will see further deepening of our overall Co-Ownership Plan."

Achieving Purpose and distributed wealth-creation in tandem

Mirroring the Company's purpose-driven objective to create a lasting community impact wherever it operates, a majority of the 790 CO3+ Co-Owners have pledged to donate some of their bonus shares to the HKBN Talent CSI Fund if the KPIs are achieved. HKBN's Executive Directors have personally donated 4 million HKBN shares worth over HK$57 million at today's valuation as seed funding to kick things off. Collectively, this remarkable commitment from HKBN's Co-Owners will endow the HKBN Talent CSI Fund with perpetual capital (includes twice-a-year share dividends) to sustainably fuel its purposeful initiatives in communities where HKBN operates.

As the value of this fund is tied with the performance of HKBN, this lock-step gives HKBN Co-Owners Purpose to continually outperform. Established in 2015 through a HK$5 million seeding donation made by Co-Ownership Plan I Co-Owners, the HKBN Talent CSI Fund is an independently run charity.

William and NiQ added, "As a company with a core purpose to 'Make our Home a Better Place to Live', we're exhilarated that such a large number of our Co-Owners have pledged to donate part of their bonus shares upside and use growth of our share price to benefit our local communities."

The following is a sample of what HKBN's Co-Owners are saying:

"Becoming a Co-Owner is like signing up for a great exploration journey. I joined for the stable dividend returns and to share the potential upside when HKBN outperforms. I believe in what we do, so I invested in what I believe."
-- Anthony Fung, Co-Owner & Deputy Financial Controller

"Putting my own saving is more than an investment, and being a Co-Owner is more than just a new identity. This investment compels me to make the right decisions, drive change and deliver extraordinary business value like entrepreneurs, not employees."
-- Brandon Tang, Co-Owner & Assistant Manager – Digital

"Risk and opportunity are always aligned. I will focus on the opportunities ahead and create the momentum for my teammates to work on and exceed our targets."
-- Desmond Chan, Co-Owner & Senior Manager – Network Development , Enterprise Solutions (Former WTT Talent)

"I've been with HKBN for about 10 years... I know our company's operations and management's strategy very well and have full confidence on our growth prospects."
-- Kelvin Leung, Co-Owner & Senior Telemarketing Supervisor, Residential Solutions

"I will do my best to help the company achieve our AFF targets. We must be more proactive and innovative. We can't just wait for instructions. I believe that as Co-Owners we can make HKBN grow, and I would like also make our home a better place to live."
-- Yoyo Szeto, Co-Owner & HKBN JOS Assistant Manager – Learning and Development (Former JOS Talent)

For the full list of HKBN Co-Owners, please click the link below:
https://reg.hkbn.net/WwwCMS/upload/pdf/en/20200227_Co-Owner-list-en.pdf 

About HKBN Ltd.

HKBN Ltd. (SEHK Stock Code: 1310, together with its subsidiaries, "HKBN" or the "Group") is an investment holding company. Headquartered in Hong Kong with operations spanning across Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, mainland China and Macau, the Group is a leading integrated telecom and technology solutions provider. Through three core brands, Hong Kong Broadband Network, HKBN Enterprise Solutions and JOS, the Group offers comprehensive one-stop Information and Communications Technology ("ICT") solutions that include broadband, data connectivity, managed Wi-Fi, integrated cloud solutions, information security, mobile, voice communications, IoT, big data, enterprise applications, data centre facilities, business continuity, system integration and OTT entertainment. HKBN's extensive tri-carrier fibre infrastructure covers 2.4 million residential homes and over 7,200 commercial buildings and facilities across Hong Kong. Committed to creating a lasting positive impact to wherever it operates, HKBN embraces a Core Purpose to "Make our Home a Better Place to Live". The Group is managed by around 870 of Co-Owners (supervisory and management level Talents in the Group) who invested their savings to buy shares of HKBN Ltd.

SOURCE HKBN Ltd.