Pro-Beijing heavyweight Lo Man-tuen wrote in a newspaper Monday that the SAR government should scrape all “spicy measures” that have been used to cool the housing market in Hong Kong.
Lo, a former vice chairman of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, said the real estate industry is unable to overcome the challenges of a high-interest environment, soaring construction costs, shrinking demand, and the fact that the government has not fully withdrawn the cooling measures in the property market.
He cast doubts about authorities’ determination to support the property market, adding that the government officials are unwilling to directly respond to societal demands.
He believes taking the ‘spice’ off the property market is necessary to boost market confidence and investment income.