Government accused over opaque Hong Kong land deals which ‘subsidise the wealthy’
Group says public knowledge of the short-term leases, which do not disclose the rent paid, ‘only the tip of the iceberg’
A group of urban planning advocates has accused the government of letting Hong Kong’s super-rich expand their property by building private swimming pools and tennis courts on public land leased to them at undisclosed prices through an opaque system of short-term deals.
The Liber Research Community said on Tuesday that its findings were “only the tip of the iceberg”, and called for greater transparency to prevent abuse of the system.
At least three hectares of government land – about the size of three soccer pitches – is leased out through 31 short-term rental contracts, and home to 23 private swimming pools and eight private tennis courts, according to a study by the group.
Using Google satellite images, land records and site inspections, the researchers examined traditional low-density luxury residential areas such as Mid-Levels on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Tong in Kowloon and Sai Kung in the New Territories.
In one case, the government had leased a plot of land to the owner of two houses in Sai Kung at below market rate, to build two private swimming pools and a tennis court. The land surrounded the two houses, covering 10 times their area.
The owner of the property revealed in a newspaper interview in 2013 that the monthly rent for the 25,103 sq ft site was HK$33,000 a month, or just HK$1.6 per sq ft.
In comparison, a short-term rental for a plot of farmland in the New Territories put up via public tender cost 10 times that, at HK$16.8 per sq ft, official records showed. A property advertisement valued the villa at HK$140 million.