As I celebrate my two-year anniversary at Towngas, I reflect on a journey that has been profoundly transformative. My role as executive director and chief financial officer now extends far beyond merely managing balance sheets. I am deeply committed to integrating financial stewardship with the creation of a sustainable legacy.
If someone had told my younger self who spent afternoons playing table tennis in secondary school and evenings immersed in accounting textbooks that I would one day leave the world of auditing to lead the financial and ESG strategies of one of Hong Kong’s most iconic energy companies, I would have laughed in disbelief.
My three decades in professional services reinforced the conventional view of a CFO: a guardian of numbers, audits, intricate financial statements, and high-stakes mergers. While these tasks remain critical, my perspective has evolved. True operational excellence and sustainable growth are not captured in figures alone, they require orchestrating meaningful transformation that creates enduring impact.
One experience stands out vividly. While advising a jewelry retailer in severe financial distress, our team faced a stark choice on whether to close more than 200 stores, which would have devastated thousands of livelihoods. Instead, we prioritized stabilization, ensuring timely payroll and avoiding salary reductions. The message was clear yet compelling: resilience preserves hope and the possibility of recovery, while surrender guarantees irreversible loss. That determination bore fruit. Employee morale rebounded, the business stabilized, and within a year we achieved a successful exit. This episode reaffirmed a fundamental truth: in the most challenging turnarounds, trust, leadership, and shared purpose often prove more decisive than any financial model.
Today, that people-centered philosophy continues to shape my work at Towngas. Here, transformation is not just a strategic objective – it is an imperative as we build a sustainable energy future for generations ahead.
With a heritage of over 160 years, Towngas is far more than just an energy supplier. We safeguard the daily lives of millions of households across Hong Kong and mainland China through our unwavering commitment to safety.
Simultaneously, we are transforming our business from a conventional energy company to one that upcycles waste into new energy sources crucial for decarbonization.
From converting waste into valuable resources such as sustainable aviation fuel and green methanol, to harnessing hydrogen which already constitutes around 50 percent of our town gas composition, we are leveraging our extensive pipeline network to accelerate the energy transition.
Here’s to embracing the future while honoring our rich legacy – not simply to draw lessons from it, but to build boldly upon it. As we steer toward a cleaner horizon, let us remain resolute at the helm, navigating change with clarity, vision, and purpose.
It is time to truly move with the times.
Edmund Yeung is the ED and CFO of Towngas
