Normally in HK the common areas of a private housing estate are owned jointly by the individual property owners in the estate. It is often overlooked that this normal situation does not apply in Hong Lok Yuen - the common areas land (roads, parks, club facilities etc) are owned privately, even though planning restrictions mean they are required to be operated as common areas of the estate for its residents.
In 2005 long-term HLY resident, and then-Legislative Councillor, Ronnie Tong led an initiative for laws to be passed so that this impractical situation could be remedied - for Hong Lok Yuen and other similar house developments in HK. This legislative proposal was called the "Incorporation of Owners of House Developments".
This initiative was carried out as part of a legislative amendment process for the Building Management Ordinance occurring at that time (see LegCo papers below). Unfortunately, despite significant debate, LegCo regarded the issue as too difficult to deal with and by 2006 had put off passing any legislation at that time.
This important issue continues to be unaddressed and is recognised as being very significant, but still to be dealt with, by the Building Management Ordinance Review Committee: see for example their comments on this issue in 2013 here.
Anyway, to answer the original question as to who owns the common areas land of Hong Lok Yuen, it seems that by 2010 the company that was registered as the title holder for the common areas land had lost all interest in the land and their obligations to the estate residents, and was struck off in 2011- see our recent article on this here.
As this company was a British Virgin Islands company, the land then passed to the British Virgin Islands Government, who presumably continue to hold it as the common areas for the estate residents.
So as it turns out, Hong Lok Yuen, is now a little bit of the Caribbean in Hong Kong - just without the beaches!
LegCo Papers on the Incorporation of House Developments:
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