Limited but necessary

The government on Thursday announced 10 short- to medium-term measures to keep the housing market and public sentiment stable, as cool as possible, in the face of popular discontent rising in parallel to housing prices in Hong Kong.

Five of the 10 measures are expected to see results within a year, including the sale of all 800 remaining apartments in a subsidized housing estate in Tin Shui Wai. Another 1,000 "rent-to-buy" units in Tsing Yi will go up for pre-order early next year. Some 9,000 new private housing units are also to be completed in coming months and will soon come on the market.

This means at least 11,000 public and private housing units will be on sale in the next six to 12 months to help ease the supply somewhat. Apart from increasing home sales, the government also plans to increase land supply, change land use and convert old factory buildings into housing estates in the next few years. All of these measures combined will help nudge the housing market toward a reasonable balance.

The 10 measures are timely and necessary. They demonstrate that the SAR government, led by Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, is determined to address the housing issue and has worked really hard on the problem since taking office.

Of course, "Rome was not built in a day." The mad state of the housing market today did not happen overnight and the root cause of the problem has always been short supply. CE Leung visited Lan Tau Island and Tung Chung in the first week after taking office, to learn more about the housing supply situation. He observed, back then, that Hong Kong has not run out of land yet and the supply situation didn't have to be so bad.

Some people have doubts about the effectiveness of these "quick-fix" measures to cool the market and suppress property prices, because many local residents cannot afford a home of their own anyway, or will have a hard time paying mortgages even if they could come up with the down payment.

Such doubts are not entirely unfounded, but then again CE Leung's philosophy on housing policy is not about "destroying" the market to begin with. The government is thinking about long-term goals and the 10 short-to medium-term measures should help a little in the immediate future.

This is an excerpted translation of a Ta Kung Pao editorial published on Aug 31.

Politics vs economy

July retail growth stood at just 3.8 percent year-on-year, the smallest increase since September 2009, according to figures released by the Census and Statistics Department on Thursday. Hong Kong's economy is currently affected by destabilizing factors on the mainland as well as in the US and Europe. The uncertainties have been compounded by the disheartening stock market performance and flagging consumer spending.

These economic challenges deserve serious attention from all quarters, but, with the Legislative Council (LegCo) election drawing near, it is all kinds of smear campaign and wanton politicization that are dominating the news while issues concerning the living standards of the people of Hong Kong are ignored.

The public should realize that Hong Kong needs to focus on resolving economic and quality of life issues and voters should inform the election candidates that they are obligated to discuss Hong Kong's economic development rationally and pragmatically in order to reach a consensus. On the other hand, the government needs to introduce measures aimed at stimulating the economy. Hong Kong must return to the right track of maintaining a rational and pragmatic approach to everything.

The LegCo election will take place on Sept 9. Time is running out for candidates to rally public support. Some candidates are betting on politicizing the moral and national education (MNE) controversy and even on demonizing the Individual Visit Scheme, which helps keep many people employed. All the major public forums are filled with furious cursing and personal attacks among candidates instead of rational and even-tempered debates over public policies.

The latest retail growth figures suggest Hong Kong's economy is losing steam, due to slowdowns of developed economies elsewhere. That means Hong Kong could be in danger of an economic recession if the current crises in Europe and the US continue. Faced with economic challenges from within and outside, all quarters of Hong Kong society should put their minds to addressing economic problems and maintaining living standards more than anything else.

The retail sector is forecast to continue experiencing weak demand in the next two to three months and the government will need to keep the stimulating measures coming, especially those to assist small and medium enterprises. It will also have to use reserves wisely to increase domestic demand.

This is an excerpted translation of Wen Wei Po editorial published on Aug 31.

(HK Edition 09/01/2012 page3)