Developers told they need to meet asking prices
The chief executive dismissed property developers' complaints that it was difficult to trigger land auctions, saying they were just making excuses for failing to lodge bids high enough to meet government valuations.
Developers complain officials have been less willing to approve land sales since the controversy broke last year over the granting of bonus space to Henderson Land for the Grand Promenade development in Sai Wan Ho.
Donald Tsang Yam-kuen told listeners to a radio phone-in show that the problem lay with developers who did not want to meet the asking price for sites.
'Property developers of course have their own theories, but when they fail to trigger a land auction, they blame us for holding too firm on the price ... We cannot sell land cheaply,' Mr Tsang said.
He said the system of having developers lodge bids for sites on the government's land application list in the hope of triggering auctions involved interaction between officials and developers, rather than unilateral decisions by one side or the other.
