Hong Kong will not restore land-sale scheme axed in 2013, official says
Mechanism allowed developers to apply for sites listed by the government and offer a minimum price, triggering a public auction or tender
A land-sale mechanism abolished more than a decade ago will not be restored to ensure the government continues to take the lead on supply, Hong Kong’s development minister has said, despite calls from developers for its return amid a sluggish property market.
Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn Hon-ho also said on Saturday that the application-based mechanism would not be brought back to operate side by side with the current land sale arrangement, in which authorities designate plots for tender each quarter.
The mechanism, abolished in 2013, allowed developers to apply for sites listed by the government and offer a minimum price. Authorities would then put the site up for sale by public auction or tender.
“Obviously, the developers were taking the lead on land supply. It is different from our regular land supply. We’ve always said the government has to take the lead on land supply,” she told a radio show.
If the two mechanisms ran together, it could undermine the government’s credibility and bring confusing messages to the market, she added.
Linn said the interests of the government and the private market would clash if developers applied for sites in an area where authorities planned to roll out another plot under the quarterly land sale.
