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HK prices a sour note for Lang Lang

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What does Hong Kong's middle class have in common with the world's most famous Chinese concert pianist? They're both unhappy with the price of property.

'I'm proud to be a Hong Kong resident ... but Hong Kong is very expensive,' says Lang Lang, the first person to become a resident through the Quality Migrant Scheme after its launch in 2006.

'I have a home in New York. I have a home in Beijing, but Hong Kong ... I'm still looking for my dream home in Hong Kong. It's more expensive than New York,' the 28-year-old says, giving his trademark dramatic gestures, though frowning.

And frown he might, as he paraphrases the old Chinese saying that a foot of land is worth an inch of gold. 'In Hong Kong, a square foot is worth a diamond,' he says, to laughs from his entourage.

Lang, with his spiky, jet-black hair and dressy shirt, looks more like a rock star than a classical pianist.

Certainly he is overqualified for the My Home Purchase Plan, the government's rent-to-buy scheme that accepts applicants with a household income of no more than HK$39,000 a month and assets of no more than HK$600,000.

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