CHEUNG Kong (Holdings) will arrange up to 85 per cent mortgage financing for buyers of the 512 unfinished flats at Kingswood Villas in Yuen Long in a bid to increase sales. As banks' 70 per cent mortgage ceiling is still in place, property developers have moved to provide guarantees or provide top-up finance to stimulate buyer interest. Sun Hung Kai Properties is offering up to 90 per cent mortgage financing for the sale of its 180 garden houses at Palm Springs in Yuen Long later this month. Cheung Kong yesterday started to register potential buyers for its Kingswood flats, but initial response was said to be slow. Registration continues until tomorrow. Cheung Kong chairman Li Ka-shing said after attending the opening of the Guangxi trade fair at the exhibition centre in Wan Chai that it was still undecided whether the 85 per cent mortgage financing would be provided solely by the company or through a joint venture with banks. But he said the company was capable of arranging the financing even if banks were not involved. Unlike the usual practice of arranging the 70 per cent mortgage with banks immediately after selecting their flats, buyers can choose to pay only 10 per cent for the flat as a down-payment, followed by 2.5 per cent in May and another 2.5 per cent in July. They will not be required to arrange the financing for the remaining 85 per cent until the flats are ready for occupation, with the arrangement guaranteed by Cheung Kong. In a bid to attract buyers, Cheung Kong is offering the 512 units, ranging from 573 to 815 sq ft, at an average of $1,997 a square foot, down 14.3 per cent from the previous offering in September last year. Mr Li said registration on the first day could be slow, but he expected interest to pick up by the time registration ended. He said he was told by his staff that the buyers' response was ''quite good'', and the prices of the flats would not be cut further. Meanwhile, Mr Stanley Ho Hung-sun, head of the Hongkong Real Estate Developers' Association, said it would meet Financial Secretary Hamish Macleod next month to press for a relaxation of the 70 per cent mortgage ceiling. He said the association was finalising a proposal to facilitate a relaxation without fuelling speculation.