Tycoon who told young Hongkongers to save for flats 'criticised for original sin of being born rich'
A controversial suggestion by young property tycoon and government Commission on Youth chairman Lau Ming-wai that young people should save instead of going on holidays if they want to buy a flat was valid, Frederick Ma said.
A suggestion by the government’s top youth adviser that young people skip holidays to save for flats was not wrong, but the criticism that followed was inevitable given his “original sin” of being born rich, former commerce minister Frederick Ma Si-hang said.
Ma was addressing controversial remarks by Commission on Youth chairman Lau Ming-wai, scion of the Chinese Estates empire, who last week suggested people save HK$3,000 out of a HK$15,000 salary every month. That way, they would be able to afford a down payment on a flat when prices in the property market slumped.
“Poor man, he has an original sin – he was born into a rich family,” Ma said. “When he says things like that, people only feel he doesn’t understand their actual situation.”
Lau took over as head of the Commission on Youth in March. He became CEO of Chinese Estates last year.
But Ma said he understood why the younger generation was frustrated.