of comprehensive development rights on land affected by railway installations will be discretionary". Land above stations would not necessarily be used to build private housing to maximize MTR's revenue, but could be used to solve issues of housing in Hong Kong, such as by developing public housing instead. The Executive Council also noted that "revenue from property development was not originally envisaged as being used as a means of financing the capital cost of the railway itself" and that revenue from property development was to be used for a "contingency reserve", such as for offsetting excessive construction costs. The report noted that 40 per cent of MTR's revenue is currently from property, and that the original intent of using property revenue for contingency purposes had shifted into a different, unsustainable model where property is used to subsidise operations and construction of new stations. Senior leadership Chairman: Rex Auyeung (since July 2019) Chief Executive: Jacob Kam (since April 2019) List of former chairmen Sir Philip Haddon-Cave (1972–1974); project manager Sir Norman Thompson (1974–1983); first official Chairman Sir Wilfrid Newton (1983–1989) Hamish Mathers (1989–1995) Jack So (1995–2003) Raymond Ch'ien (2003–2015) Frederick Ma (2016–2019) List of former chief executives The position of Chief Executive was created in 1995. Jack So (1995–2003) Sir Chow Chung-kong (2003–2011) Jay Walder (2012–2014) Lincoln Leong (2015–2019) Operations by market Hong Kong MTR Corporation is responsible for the operation of MTR (and the Kowloon–Canton Railway since 2 December 2007). The rail lines are profitable, but the MTR Corporation derives most of its profits from property development (usually adjacent to railway stations) and other commercial activities in Hong Kong, including the letting of retail and poster advertising space, ATM banking facilities, and personal telecommunication services . Rail services Mass Transit Railway (MTR) is the rapid transit railway system in Hong Kong. Originally opened in 1979, the system currently (at August 2018) includes of rail with 159 stations, including 91 railway stations and 68 light rail stops. There are also several future projects of the MTR. Property management Property is one of the main businesses of the MTR generating most of the profits. In 2009 of a net profit of HK$7.3 billion, MTR made HK$3.55 billion from property and HK$2.12 billion from transport operations. The MTR tries to develop suitable sites related to their new railway projects and their existing railway. For instance, the reclaimed land situated in West Kowloon owned