A possible rise in United States interest rates in the near term will not have an impact on Hong Kong's weak property market, according to a leading developer.
Ronnie Chan Chi-chung, chairman of Hang Lung Group, said the impact of an interest-rate rise from the current low levels would be insignificant.
'This has been the lowest interest-rate period in the last few decades and from the current levels an interest rate increase will be insignificant,' Mr Chan said at yesterday's launch of the Asian Business Council (ABC), a non-profit organisation based in Hong Kong comprising of mainly Asian chief executives from leading regional companies.
The US Federal Reserve's monetary policy committee is to meet on Tuesday and a rate increase is not expected, but investors are focused on how the Fed will acknowledge that a recovery is under way.
Interest rates in Hong Kong, whose currency is pegged to the US dollar, closely follows those in the US.
Of late, market players have expressed concerns that the US - seemingly on the road to economic recovery - will raise its interest rates, which could create problems for the already fragile Hong Kong economy, especially the private sector.