No plans to resume sales of HOS flats before 2007: Suen
Updated at 6.42pm: Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands Michael Suen Ming-yeung said on Monday the government had no plans to resume sales of its Home Ownership Scheme flats earlier than 2007.
There have been calls recently in Hong Kong for the resumption of sales of HOS flats - as the territory's property market continues to show a steady recovery.
Currently, there is a suspension of flat sales under the scheme until 2007.
The government intends to resume sales of its remaining 10,000 flats from 2007, selling 2,000 units each year.
But Mr Suen said sales would be resumed in 2007.
'They are proposing that we should commence sales with effect from now. We have said that we will resume sales of those flats after 2006. So it is a question of a difference of about a year,'' he told RTHK's programme Talkabout.
Asked if an earlier resumption of sales would increase government revenue, Mr Suen said: 'I think there is no question of the government losing any revenue over our existing measures because HOS flats are built for sale and eventually they will be sold.'
He said resuming sales in 2007 would not deprive the government of revenue.
'As far as revenue is concerned, there is no revenue foregone. We will be selling our flats in due course,' Mr Suen said.
The Housing Secretary was also confident about the supply of housing in the territory. 'At the moment there is an adequate supply of flats in the market,' he explained.
His comments follow new research by the Democratic Party, which has revealed that the losses being incurred by the government as a result of the suspension of the scheme include more than $7.2 billion in interest and unrealised investment income lost since sales were halted in 2002.
The party based its calculations on potential sales of $20 billion and an annualised interest rate of 5.4 per cent.
The loss also includes $700 million in land premiums and management fees, and $3.5 billion in depreciation.
The party said the $11.4 billion could be used to build 41,000 public housing flats.
