The Chinese University of Hong Kong — Financial Overview and Endowment

This article sets out the financial structure and major donations of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Revenue figures follow the official annual reports and financial statements; year-by-year data can be found at the Finance Office website^※. CUHK's financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June.

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# 1. Structure of Income Sources

CUHK's income falls into the following main categories (common to all locally UGC-funded universities):

For total income and the share of each category, see the annual financial reports^※ (updated yearly). The most recent is the 2024–25 financial report (year ended 30 June 2025), which is the most authoritative source for these figures. For how tuition and self-financing programmes underpin this income stream, and how UGC triennial funding is calculated, see Tuition and the Finances of Self-Financing Programmes.

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# 2. Annual Financial Figures in Detail (2024/25 latest, with 2023/24 comparison)

Basis of presentation: CUHK's financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June. The figures below are set out in two parallel sets, following the basis used in the "Financial Review" of the official Annual Report 2023–2024: (1) University basis: drawn from the annual report's financial review tables (Table 1/Table 2) and the net assets analysis; these are the primary figures used in this section; (2) Consolidated/Group basis (including affiliated entities): figures from the "Treasurer's report" released publicly by the Communications and Public Relations Office and relayed by the news media (including affiliates such as the CUHK Medical Centre). These are not directly comparable with, and cannot be added to, the University-basis figures; they are listed separately, with the source type noted as news. Where the official sources do not disclose an item separately (such as the combined market value of the endowment), this is marked below as "not disclosed"; no estimates are made.

# 2.0 Latest: 2024/25 financial year (University basis, year ended 30 June 2025)

According to the CUHK 2024–25 Financial Report^※, the University's total income for 2024/25 was HK$13,594 million (+3.3%) and total expenditure HK$10,956 million (+7.1%), with total comprehensive income of HK$2,637 million. As at 30 June 2025, the University's net assets had risen 8.4% to HK$34.2 billion (HK$32.5 billion on the consolidated basis). The biggest change this year was in the income mix:

• Government subventions fell about 11%: the report states that the University made a provision to return HK$1.041 billion to the HKSAR Government from the General and Development Reserve Fund (GDRF), reducing recognised government subventions for the year from HK$6.750 billion to HK$5.709 billion; block, supplementary, and earmarked grants themselves all increased. The GDRF balance consequently fell by HK$1.2 billion to HK$1.7 billion, and the GDRF recorded a loss of HK$1.2 billion for the year.
• 63% of tuition income came from non-UGC programmes: tuition, programme, and other fees rose by HK$352 million, mainly because of higher student numbers; 63% of this was contributed by self-financing programmes.
• Donations jumped 49%: donation income rose by HK$324 million to HK$985 million, mainly for research; within the earmarked funds, the "research activities" category saw total comprehensive income leap from HK$16 million to HK$574 million for the year.
• Research funding: during the year the University received HK$476 million in research grants from the UGC and RGC, and a further HK$1.313 billion in sponsorships or donations from private organisations and other sources.
• Expenditure structure held steady: teaching and research accounted for HK$7.940 billion, or 72.5%; combined teaching- and research-related expenditure was HK$8.718 billion, sustaining roughly four-fifths of total expenditure.

For how the cuts were shared within the University, and how they relate to the 2026 five-year blueprint, see Tuition and the Finances of Self-Financing Programmes and Examining CUHK's 2026–2030 Strategy Plan. Sections 2.1–2.4 below give the detailed breakdown for the previous year (2023/24), retained for comparison.

# 2.1 Total income and share by category (University basis, year ended 30 June 2024)

According to the annual report financial review (html5/66)^※, the University's total income for 2023/24 was HK$13,161 million (about HK$13.16 billion), an increase of HK$1,956 million, or 17.5%, over HK$11,205 million the previous year^※. The amounts and shares by category are as follows:

Additional notes:

• Of the tuition figure, the annual report states that about 60% came from non-UGC-funded programmes (self-financing programmes)^※.
• Interest and net investment income surged from HK$840 million the previous year to HK$1,952 million (up HK$1,112 million)^※; the annual report attributes this to the recovery in global investment markets, realised and unrealised gains on securities, and fixed-income returns in a high-interest-rate environment.
• Donations and benefactions rose from HK$564 million the previous year to HK$661 million^※.
• "Research funding" is not shown as a separate line in the table above; research-related funding is distributed across government subventions (UGC earmarked grants) and restricted funds. For the annual report's "earmarked/restricted" comprehensive income, see §2.3.

# 2.2 Expenditure and surplus (University basis)

According to the annual report expenditure table (html5/67)^※, the University's total expenditure for 2023/24 was HK$10,227 million (the previous year HK$9,370 million^※); the year's total comprehensive income (surplus) was HK$2,933 million, consistent with "total income 13,161 − total expenditure 10,227 ≈ 2,934".

# 2.3 Reserves / net assets (University basis, as at 30 June 2024)

According to the annual report net assets analysis (html5/65)^※, as at 30 June 2024 the University's net assets (total funds / total reserves) stood at HK$31.56 billion (about HK$31.56 billion), an increase of about HK$2.9 billion, or 10.2%, over the previous year. Its composition included:

The same annual report also records: investment assets rose HK$4.4 billion, up 38.4%^※; cash and deposits fell to about HK$15.3 billion^※.

# 2.4 Endowment Fund balance

CUHK maintains a permanent endowment fund (naming thresholds and operation are covered in §3), but the official annual report's "Financial Review" does not disclose the combined market value of the endowment separately — its donations/earmarked amounts are reported within the "Restricted Funds" figure of HK$26,580 million in the table above. The Office of Institutional Advancement's General Endowment Fund page^※ likewise does not state the fund's total market value.

Separate market value of the Endowment Fund: not disclosed (not separately published through official channels). This site does not present third-party estimates as official figures.

# 2.5 Consolidated/Group basis (Group, as relayed by news media, listed separately)

Note: the following are consolidated-basis figures from the "Treasurer's report" released publicly by the Communications and Public Relations Office and relayed by the news media (including affiliated entities); they are on a different basis from the University-basis figures above and cannot be combined with or added to them. According to Wen Wei Po (25 December 2024)^※:

The report stated that CUHK's consolidated income more than doubled from HK$1.05 billion the previous year to HK$2.23 billion, mainly from UGC block grants, supplementary grants, and earmarked grants for research/teaching/student development^※. This consolidated surplus of "HK$2.23 billion" differs from the University-basis total comprehensive income of "HK$2,933 million" above because of the different scope of consolidation.

# 2.6 Sector context: the eight universities' reserves and clawbacks

• According to SCMP (December 2024)^※, in 2023/24 Hong Kong's eight UGC-funded universities held combined reserves of about HK$139.3 billion (of which UGC-funded reserves were HK$17.6 billion and non-UGC-funded reserves HK$121.7 billion); a separate report noted that CUHK ranked second among the eight^※ (HKU topped the table at about HK$41.5 billion, though the report noted that only HKUST disclosed its specific reserve figures separately).
• According to HK01 (April 2025)^※, under the arrangement requiring the eight universities to return part of their reserves, CUHK had the largest clawback, at about HK$1.04 billion; the report also gave CUHK's relevant reserve fund balance as about HK$2.893 billion (UGC-funded basis, April 2025 reporting). This basis differs from the University net assets of HK$31.56 billion above (which include restricted and non-UGC-funded amounts) and should not be confused with it.

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# 3. Endowment Fund

According to the Office of Institutional Advancement^※, the University maintains a permanent endowment fund, and donors may establish a named endowment fund. The threshold for establishment is HK$3 million, with the fund's investment return (about HK$90,000 a year) used to support scholarships or academic purposes, while the principal is preserved in perpetuity.

The scale of named endowment funds (this threshold represents the official standard around 2024; the latest official guidance should be consulted for specifics).

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# 4. Major Naming Donations (Colleges and Buildings)

# 4.1 Named colleges

Note: "Year established" is taken broadly (the year of recognition). The five new colleges — Morningside, S.H. Ho, Wu Yee Sun, Lee Woo Sing, and C.W. Chu — were announced in succession in 2006 and became fully operational in 2012 with the restoration of the four-year curriculum.

# 4.2 Major named buildings and facilities (selected)

The above is a partial list of named buildings. For the full building list, see buildings-landmarks.md.

# 4.3 Named chairs (sample)

CUHK has more than a hundred endowed professorships named by donors. For the full donation trail and the scholars appointed, see The Named Chair System: Donation Trails of the Wei Lun, Choh-Min and Lee Quo Wei Professorships. Sample:

• Tang Chun-I Visiting Professorship — in memory of the philosopher Tang Chun-i
• Sir Run Run Shaw Teaching Awards series — related to Shaw College
• Named chairs within the clinical departments of the medical faculty (named after donor families)

The complete list of endowed chairs is subject to the University's latest announcements; see the Annual Report 2023–2024^※.

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# 5. Major Donations in Recent Years (sample)

For newly announced donations in real time, see the Office of Institutional Advancement website^※. Specific amounts are subject to official announcements; this site does not estimate the amounts of donations that have not been announced.

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# 6. Obtaining the Financial Reports

The annual financial reports (including total income, expenditure by category, and reserves and endowment fund balances) are available through the following official channels:

• Finance Office financial reports page^※ (both 2023–24 and 2024–25 are published)
• Annual Report^※ (including financial summaries and donor lists)

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