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Hong Kong is not deliberately pushing up property prices but will not sell land cheaply, leader says
Chief Executive Carrie Lam makes comments after HK$48.5 billion site in sought-after neighbourhood is withdrawn from market
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Hong Kong’s leader has rejected claims the city is deliberately pushing up property prices, a day after a HK$48.5 billion (US$6.1 billion) site on The Peak was withdrawn from sale.
On Wednesday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the decision to take the Mansfield Road property off the market showed the government would not sell land cheaply.
Hong Kong scraps sale of The Peak plot as bids failed to meet target
“It [the move] shows we do not have a high price policy,” she said. “But, we will not sell our land cheaply either to ensure public money [is not misused].”
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Lam’s comments came after the Lands Department announced on Tuesday it had rejected all five tenders received for the purchase of the plot, in one of the city’s most luxurious neighbourhoods, as “the tendered premiums did not meet the government’s reserve price for the site”.
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The market had expected the site, which could yield a total gross floor area of 404,300 square feet, to fetch a record HK$48.5billion, or HK$120,000 per sq ft.
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