A top government adviser has voiced uncertainty about the government's latest measures to control housing prices, saying officials might also need to consider curbing overseas investment in Hong Kong's overheated property market.
Anthony Cheung Bing-leung (pictured), chairman of the Housing Authority's subsidised housing committee and an Executive Council member, said in a radio interview yesterday that it was hard to predict whether the newly introduced measures would be effective.
'The government may need to consider further measures, such as limiting overseas investors' purchase of Hong Kong flats' if they remained unaffordable to residents, Cheung said.
On Friday, government officials and banking regulators responded to the public outcry over soaring flat prices by introducing restrictions on market speculation, increasing land supply and imposing additional limits on mortgage lending.
For properties costing HK$12 million or more and all properties not for owner occupation, banks will have to cut loans from the existing 70 per cent of the property's value to 60 per cent, according to the Hong Kong Monetary Authority.
To deter speculation, Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah also banned confirmor transactions - resales before a purchase is completed - of uncompleted new flats.