Property developer Far East Consortium International says the government should relax conditions on the conversion of industrial buildings for other uses in a bid to speed up the redevelopment of under-utilised properties.
Far East chairman David Chiu said owners should be allowed to make alterations to exterior walls of a building equivalent to 30 per cent of the property's total gross floor area, up from 10 per cent.
"This would allow for more windows in redevelopment projects and enhance their commercial value," Chiu said.
Far East's hotel arm, Kosmopolito Hotels International, is converting old or industrial buildings into three to four-star hotels to cater to mainland tourists. It has 4,873 rooms in 18 three-star and four-star hotels in Hong Kong, on mainland China, and in Malaysia.
Far East would expand its investment in developing "boutique-style" apartments in urban areas, said Chiu, since small developers faced strong competition from large-scale housing projects built by property giants.
The company's 1,124-unit Star Ruby boutique-style residential project in Hung Hom had proved successful, he said.