Hong Kong developers urge government to remove all property cooling measures, make Hongkongers ‘happy’

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A property agency in Hong Kong’s Quarry Bay. If the government removes the cooling measures, most Hong Kong people ‘will be happy’, according to a CK Asset Holdings executive. Photo: Edmond So

Salina Li

Published: 7:31pm, 21 Feb 2024

Hong Kong developers have joined a chorus urging the government to remove all the remaining cooling measures to revive the property sector.

Stewart Leung Chi-kin, who is the chairman of the Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong as well as Wheelock, said on Wednesday that he had met Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po recently and proposed that all cooling measures be removed.

“The government has taken note of the market’s concerns,” Leung said, adding that Chan had not made any promises.

Speculation is rife that Chan could relax the remaining property market curbs during his budget speech on February 28. Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu, the city’s leader, rolled back some curbs in his policy address last year.

The Hong Kong stock market surged to a seven-week high on Wednesday, with property developers advancing on this speculation. Sun Hung Kai Properties advanced 3.7 per cent to HK$75.15, Henderson Land Development added 2.8 per cent to HK$21.90, while New World Development climbed 4.6 per cent to HK$9.79. The Hang Seng Property Index rose 3 per cent to a one-month high.

The current issue is not the withdrawal of the cooling measures, but the overall economy, Leung said. The fundamentals of the property market “were still good” despite last year’s high interest rate environment and stock market volatility, he added.