K Wah boss believes C.Y. will maintain stability

The chairman of developer K Wah International Lui Che-woo said yesterday that he believes Hong Kong's chief executive-elect would try to maintain stable property prices once he is in charge of the government.

'I don't think the new government wants to see property prices drop sharply or rise substantially.

'I think they will try to maintain stable prices in the market, which would help more people to buy flats,' Lui said yesterday after K Wah's annual general meeting.

Lui said Leung Chun-ying had experience in the property market and was familiar with the way the market operated. 'I think he will release suitable policies,' he added.

Leung is a surveyor and was the former chairman of property consultancy DTZ.

Despite recent research showing that the number of mainland buyers in the Hong Kong property market was decreasing, Lui said he expected demand from mainland buyers to remain strong.

'They may be more cautious about buying property than before as the mainland has tightened lending. But they are still interested in buying property in Hong Kong,' he said.

Meanwhile, data from Centaline Property Agency showed 17 per cent of buyers bought second-hand properties worth more than HK$12 million in the first quarter, down from 27.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year, which was the lowest level in two years.

For the mainland property market, Lui said he believed Beijing would not relax cooling measures this year.

'I think the mainland has had cooling measures in effect for more than a year. Maybe it is time to adjust some policies,' he said.

Lui also announced his succession plan yesterday.

His elder son Francis Lui Yiu-tung, vice-chairman of Galaxy Entertainment Group, is to take over the group's Macau business, while his younger son, Alexander Lui Yiu-wah, executive director of K Wah International, is slated to be in charge of the developer's business in Hong Kong.