The MTR Corporation was established in 1975 as the Mass Transit Railway Corporation with a mission to construct and operate, under prudent commercial principles, an urban metro system to help meet Hong Kong's public transport requirements. The sole shareholder was the Hong Kong Government.

The Company was re-established as the MTR Corporation Limited in June 2000 after the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government sold 23% of its issued share capital to private investors in an Initial Public Offering. MTR Corporation shares were listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong on 5 October 2000.

The Corporation marked another major milestone on 2 December 2007 when the operations of the other Government-owned rail operator, the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation, were merged into the MTR, heralding a new era in the Hong Kong railway development.

The merged rail network comprises nine railway lines serving Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories. In addition, a Light Rail network serves the local communities of Tuen Mun and Yuen Long in the New Territories while a fleet of buses provide convenient feeder services.

The Corporation also operates the Airport Express, a dedicated high-speed rail link providing the fastest connections to Hong Kong International Airport and the city's newest exhibition and conference centre, AsiaWorld-Expo.

From Hong Kong, passengers can travel with ease to Guangdong Province, Beijing and Shanghai in the Mainland of China using the MTR's intercity railway services.

Property and Railway-related Business
MTR Corporation is involved in a wide range of business activities in addition to its railway operations. These include the development of residential and commercial projects, property leasing, and revenue from advertising, telecommunication services and international consultancy services.

The Corporation has completed property complexes at 25 MTR stations, generating some 65,240 housing units and 1,400,690 square metres of commercial space.

Office buildings aside, the Corporation also owns and manages a number of quality retail complexes throughout Hong Kong. The newest addition to its portfolio of shopping centre is Elements. Opened in October 2007, the 74,000-square metre Phase 1 luxury shopping space above Kowloon Station is the Corporation's flagship lifestyle shopping destination.

Through the day-to-day management of some 61,997 residential units, seven major shopping centres and five office buildings (665,121 square metres of commercial and office space), the Corporation is one of the largest estate managers in Hong Kong. Under the transaction agreement of the merger, MTR Corporation has acquired additional eight investment properties, of which five are shopping centres, with total gross floor areas of over 70,785 square metres.

China & International Business
Bringing expertise in railway development and property management to the Mainland of China and the international market is a core component of the Corporation's strategy for continuous growth.

The Mainland of China is a particularly significant market for the Corporation's consultancy services in railway operations, property management and related businesses. The growth strategy in the Mainland of China focuses on investing in urban rail networks.

In a Public-Private Partnership with Beijing Infrastructure Investment Co Ltd and Beijing Capital Group, the Corporation is investing in the construction of the 29 km Beijing Metro Line 4 and after completion will operate it for 30 years. The concession, lease and financing agreements for the project were signed in April 2006.

In Shenzhen, the Corporation is preparing for the Shenzhen Metro Phase 2 of Line 4, which is 16 km long with 10 stations. The RMB6 billion project is funded on a BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) model.

In 2006, three new property management contracts for office/commercial developments in Beijing's central business district were committed.

Currently, seven property management contracts are held in the Mainland, representing a total area of more than one million square metres. A new long-term head lease for the operation of a shopping centre in Beijing has also been signed, with an option to acquire this property at a pre-set price during the first five years of the lease and a right of first refusal thereafter.

With these agreements, the Corporation now has a strong foothold for expansion into other mainland cities such as Shenyang, Hangzhou, Wuhan and Suzhou.

International Business
In Europe, the Corporation is committed to an “asset light” strategy of bidding for rail operating service contracts.

In partnership with Laing Rail in the United Kingdom in November 2007, the Corporation began to operate the new London Overground service in the British capital. Comprising five rail lines spanning 107.2 km, the network serves West, North and East London and will be a crucial transport link for the 2012 Olympic Games. The joint venture manages 55 of the network's 78 stations.

Consultancy Services
The Corporation offers specialist consultancy services on railway planning, construction and operation, property developments and other non-fare revenue businesses. Today, consultancy services have expanded to cover projects in the Mainland of China, Asia, Australia, the Middle East and Europe. The Shanghai Line 9 (Shen Song Line). Taiwan High Speed Rail and Kaosiung Rapid Transit are just some of these projects. Among the longest-running of the Corporation’s consultancy projects is the maintenance contract for the Automatic People Mover system at Hong Kong International Airport. These services in total contribute approximately HK$200 million revenue a year.