HONG KONG: Hong Kong will accelerate a plan to boost land supply by releasing 12 sites in the coming quarter, while the city's financial secretary said on Wednesday, Apr 13 that further cooling measures might be taken to stabilise the frothy property market.

The Hong Kong authorities have been grappling with soaring property prices, driven by a low interest rate environment and buying by affluent mainland Chinese investors, lifting prices by about 60% since 2009.

Even with the accelerated provision of fresh land in the former British colony, however, its finance chief warned that further cooling measures might be considered with February prices continuing to climb beyond 1997 peaks.

"The overall property market has continued to rebound in the continued low interest rate environment," Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang told lawmakers. "I'm very concerned about this situation. I will closely monitor the real estate market and if needed, I won't hesitate to take further measures to reduce the risk of a bubble."

Secretary for Development Carrie Lam said 12 plots of land in the space-starved city would be put on the market between April and June, providing an estimated 2,650 residential units.

"In January and February, the (property) market was very active," said Lam in announcing the land provision programme. "The (government's) determination to increase land supply is undoubtable."

Three of the plots would be sold or tendered in April, five in May and four in June, Lam said. At least nine would be for residential purposes, while three would be for commercial or non-residential usage.

In February, Tsang announced in his annual budget that the city would substantially increase land supply for residential use and issue up to HK$10 billion (RM3.89 billion) in inflation-linked bonds to ease the sting of rising prices.

At the time, Tsang said at least nine more residential sites would be tendered or auctioned in the coming year to replenish the land bank. — Reuters

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