Housing supply in HK to increase: chief executive

Hong Kong's property prices depend on a number of factors including the external economic situation and supply level, which the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is seeking to increase, the city' s chief executive CY Leung said here on Thursday.

Leung told a radio phone-in program this morning that his policy address contained different measures to address the city's housing problems, which include providing more subsidized flats to meet the needs of different income groups.

He said there will also be a record high supply of 74,000 private residential units in the coming three to four years.

As to why the HKSAR government is still allowing 150 mainlanders per day to come and live in Hong Kong when there is a housing shortage, Leung said many of these people are children or spouses of Hong Kong residents and barring them from coming here would create not only family problems, but also legal issues.

On the subject of recruiting talents and professionals from outside Hong Kong, Leung said that a scheme proposed in his policy address targets not only mainlanders but also the second generation of Hong Kong permanent residents who have emigrated overseas.