Several private clubs charging expensive membership fees have pocketed millions of Hong Kong dollars in wage subsidies from a government scheme designed to help cash-strapped smaller firms hit hard by the fifth wave of Covid-19 infections.
According to government lists of participants in the Employment Support Scheme, the Hong Kong Golf Club, founded in 1889, obtained the largest amount of aid among these members-only groups, receiving HK$6.9 million (US$880,000) in total for 442 employees in May and June.
Other beneficiaries include such prestigious institutions as the Hong Kong Country Club, the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, the Hong Kong Cricket Club and the American Club, which only allow members to access their facilities. The scheme limited wage assistance to HK$8,000 a month per worker, and many of the clubs took the maximum amount.