Trump trade war, pressure on yuan could hurt Hong Kong housing demand: think tank
Our Hong Kong Foundation says short-to-medium-term impact of conflict on China’s currency will negatively affect mainland homebuyers in city
The US-China trade war and its pressure on the weakening yuan may impair Hong Kong’s private housing demand and market sentiment, even as the city expects a stable supply in the coming decade, a local think tank has warned.
Our Hong Kong Foundation, the city’s largest think tank, on Thursday revealed its 10-year forecast for the city’s housing supply and raised factors that could hurt private housing demand.
“Recent renminbi devaluation under the short- to medium-term impact of the trade war will affect mainland homebuyers in Hong Kong negatively,” said Ryan Ip Man-ki, the think tank’s vice-president and executive director of its public policy institute.
“In the medium to long term, the trade war will affect trading. Hong Kong has around 20 per cent of GDP and employment in the trading and logistics sector. It will pose a certain impact on Hong Kong’s economy.”
He said homebuyers’ confidence could be affected given stock market fluctuations but a possible US Federal Reserve interest rate cut could be good news for the local property market.
Ip said a gloomy property market would also discourage developers from bidding for public land. He urged the government to offer more sites that could be made available for housing construction sooner and require less preparatory work for developers.
He also called on the administration to further streamline development procedures and reduce community facility requirements for successful bidders.