54
nong Kong Ferry (Holdings) Co. Ltd.
Notes on the Accounts
23. CAPITAL AND OTHER COMMITMENTS
(a) Capital commitments outstanding at 31 December 1999 not provided for in the accounts
were as follows:
Contracted for
Authorised but not contracted for
Group
1999
HK$'000
1998
HK$'000
37,884
293,622
12,375
7,500
(b) At 31 December 1999, the Group had future development expenditure relating to properties
under development for sale amounting to HK$1,041,615,000 (1998:HK$40,223,000).
(c) At 31 December 1999, the Group had commitments under operating leases to make payments
in the next year were as follows:
Group
1999
1998
Properties
HK$'000
Vessels
HK$'000
Properties
HK$'000
Vessels
HK$'000
Leases expiring within 1 year Leases expiring after 1 year
914
689
618
480
but within 5 years
1,096
948
16,006
2,010
689
1,566
16,486
24. RETIREMENT SCHEMES
The Group operates defined benefit schemes covering substantially all permanent staff. The schemes are administered by independent trustees with assets held separately from those of the Group. The schemes operated by the Group are Outdoor Staff Retirement Fund, Office Staff Retirement Fund and Group Staff Retirement Fund.
Contributions to the defined benefit schemes are made in accordance with recommendations of independent actuaries who value the schemes at regular intervals, and are charged to the profit and loss account. Retirement costs for the year were HK$11,688,000 (1998: HK$17,128,000).