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Hong Kong authorities can bring back property cooling measures if necessary, says finance chief Paul Chan
- Finance chief Paul Chan says authorities will monitor property market and act accordingly
- He adds no need to levy new taxes as revenue from land sales is expected to increase after removal of cooling curbs
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Hong Kong’s finance chief has said the government has not ruled out reintroducing property market cooling measures if conditions change.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Thursday that it was a “suitable” time to lift the decade-old property controls, given the limited speculative activities and ample supply of flats in the market.
Chan, who unveiled the budget for the coming financial year the previous day, said that despite facing a deficit, the city did not need to make an “overly progressive” move to levy new taxes because revenue from land sales was expected to increase after the property curbs were scrapped.
Chan surprised the market in Wednesday’s budget statement with the removal of all property cooling measures with immediate effect.
“There is almost no speculative activity nowadays while the home supply currently and in the future is very sufficient,” Chan told a radio call-in programme on Thursday.
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