Aged people will benefit from new facilities, not developers, says Legco member Tony Tse
Functional constituency representative has urged government to give incentives to developers
Tony Tse Wai-chuen, who represents the Architectural, Surveying and Planning functional constituency in the Legislative Council, has 38 years of experience in the real estate business. Tse has worked in both the public and private sectors, holding senior position in companies and organisations including Hongkong Land Property, the Urban Renewal Authority, Henderson Land Development and Henderson Sunlight Asset Management.
What made you focus on the housing issue for the elderly in Hong Kong?
It’s because I am getting old. It’s for my own interest. (laughing) It was just kidding.
Earlier, Chief Secretary Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor had addressed the issue of the aged population in the city. Housing is an important issue so I have invited some consultants to look into the issue.
In your proposal, you suggested the government give incentives to developers to lure them to invest in building homes for the aged. Do you worry that your idea will be criticised as a proposal that favours developers ?
I suggest that the government should consider giving incentives to developers in a way to draw them to provide homes for the aged. For example, the government requires that developers must provide facilities catering for aged people in their clubhouses. In return, the government offers them an option that can lower the cost to maintain the clubhouse. Some say developers will benefit [from this idea]. But those are the incentives to lure them to participate in the market. Eventually, users will benefit. Attracting private capital can ease the government’s burden to build homes for the elderly.