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Property News Weekly Digest
2019/12/21
〈Asian Post, December 20, 2019〉Many families found the latest batch of subsidised flats on offer to be less appealing for their "small size and remote location", even though they were the cheapest units available under a government housing scheme.

Some 828 flats in Chai Wan on Hong Kong Island and 2,868 units in Tsing Yi in the New Territories will be sold exclusively to public housing tenants or those likely to be allocated a public rental flat within a year under the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme (GSH).

The flats in Chai Wan are sized between 187 and 320 sq ft, and in Tsing Yi between 187 and 471 sq ft. The smallest flats account for close to a fourth of all units in Chai Wan and about 22 per cent of all units in Tsing Yi.

The flats were originally earmarked for rental homes, but earlier this year, the Housing Authority decided to convert them to subsidised units.

Fewer than 40 potential buyers showed up at the authority sales office in Kwun Tong yesterday morning to collect application forms. Many became hesitant to buy after they saw the models of the flats on offer.

〈Asian Post, December 19, 2019〉Macau has long provided Chinese leaders with a glimmering showcase for the virtues of obeying Beijing.

The former Portuguese colony has marched on to become the world’s largest gambling hub over the past few decades, surpassing its more rebellious brother Hong Kong along the way. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to use a visit marking 20 years of Chinese rule over Macau this week to send a message to the protest-stricken financial hub about 50km to the east: Work with us and get rich.

"Jobs are chasing after Macau people, instead of the other way around," said Alexandra, a 29-year-old human resources worker in Macau, who asked to be identified only by her first name because she was not authorized to speak publicly about her work. "Young people can see a much brighter future here than in Hong Kong. They are indifferent, or even cold toward politics."

Xi arrived at Macau International Airport aboard an Air China 747 on Wednesday afternoon and shook hands with local officials on the tarmac.

In brief remarks, he praised Macau’s "earnest implementation" of the "one country, two systems" framework that governs it, as well as Hong Kong.

〈The Standard, December 19, 2019〉The Link Real Estate Investment Trust (0823) is considering acquisitions in Singapore, Japan, and the United Kingdom after acquiring its first overseas property in Sydney for A$683 million (HK$3.65 billion) but says it has no current plans to offload Hong Kong assets.

Chief executive George Hongchoy Kwok-lung said Link REIT would gradually reduce its Hong Kong portfolio proportion to between 70 percent and 75 percent.

The biggest property investment trust in Asia set a goal of improving its proportion of mainland portfolio to 20 percent of its total portfolio value last year.

The building, namely 100 Market Street, comprises a 10-story commercial office tower located at 100 Market Street, situated in a mixed-use development in the CBD of Sydney.

It was substantially redeveloped in 2010 and 2011 as part of the larger Westfield Sydney redevelopment and has a total net lettable area of 28,385.3 square meters.

〈The Standard, December 18 , 2019〉Hong Kong and Macau residents are allowed to buy their first mainland home in Guangzhou by providing their ID cards and Home Return Permits, the mainland Guangzhou Daily reported after confirming it with Guangzhou Real Estate Registration Center.

The new rule, which came effect on Monday, means SAR residents can buy one unit in Guangzhou if they have no home in the mainland. The new policy replaces the previous requirement of offering certification that one is studying, working, and living in the mainland, further easing the threshold for buying a home in Guangzhou.

Last year, Guangzhou scrapped a rule requiring one year's working or living experience for foreigners, including Hong Kong residents.

Commentator Johnny Lau Yui-siu foresees similar policies to come, since the mainland wants to attract more capital from Hong Kong and Macau and keep the property market steady amid slowing economic growth.

Guangzhou Centaline Property's project general manager Huang Tao said Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan buyers only accounted for around 2 percent of Guangzhou's transaction volume.

〈Business Post, December 17, 2019〉Price paid for the luxury residential site by the state-backed conglomerate seen as conservative, indicating caution still prevails in the market

Hong Kong-listed and Chinese state-backed conglomerate Citic Pacific has won a luxury residential plot in Tai Hang, southeast of Causeway Bay, for HK$3.2 billion, the Lands Department said yesterday.

The company beat 24 other bidders for the plot, which was initially expected to sell for between HK$1.7 billion and HK$5.41 billion, according to market observers.

The winning bid is being viewed as indicative of the cautious outlook prevailing in Hong Kong's property market following seven months of protests as well as the more than year old US-China trade war.

"The conservative pricing has definitely been affected by the current market conditions, as well as the impending vacancy tax," said Thomas Lam, executive director at property consultancy Knight Frank.