HK chief executive focuses on housing issue

HONG KONG, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong Chief Executive CY Leung said Wednesday the government will focus on increasing supply of subsidized housing in the next five years.

He said the government has introduced a series of short to medium-term measures, such as introducing a Buyer's Stamp Duty and increasing the Special Stamp Duty rate, advocating "Hong Kong property for Hong Kong people," increasing land supply, allowing applicants with White Form status to purchase Home Ownership Scheme flats with unpaid premium, and building youth hostels.

The new Long Term Housing Strategy Steering Committee has started to explore and formulate the long-term housing strategy, he said in his first policy address.

Leung said with concerted efforts of various departments, the city government has secured land for the development of 75,000 new Public Rental Housing flats in the five years starting the fiscal year 2012-2013 and about 17,000 Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats in the four years starting the fiscal year 2016-2017, adding that the first batch of new HOS flats is scheduled for pre-sale next year.

In addition, the government has just put in place a scheme to allow 5,000 eligible White Form applicants to purchase on the secondary market in two phases HOS flats with premium unpaid, Leung said.

In a couple of months, the government will put on sale about 830 remaining surplus HOS flats, while the Greenview Villa project launched by the Hong Kong Housing Society will also provide 988 flats, he said.