SOUTHERN China's booming property market and increasingly sophisticated Hong Kong developers are fuelling a massive demand for luxury building materials.
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council said about $27 billion would be spent in the territory this year on fixtures and fittings including ceramic and marble tiling, marble and bathrooms.
The potential was even larger in southern China where a larger number of offices and homes were being built to international standards, it said.
The council predicted a surge in demand from offices, retail centres, hotels and restaurants for top-quality, durable materials.
Hong Kong Interior Design Association chairman Patrick Fong Chun-wah said home buyers were becoming more demanding in their choice of luxury products, putting pressure on developers to make apartments more attractive, especially during the downturn in property demand.
He said modern manufacturing techniques meant complex designs were painted by machine far quicker than they were by hand.
