Media

The Ronald Coase Centre for Property Rights Research at the University of Hong Kong introduces their “land readjustment” and “land bonds” proposals, to expedite land development and unleash a good quantity of privately owned land in the New Territories for housing development.

Major findings of their study will be presented to the Task Force on Land Supply.

The research team believes that the two proposals provide sufficient incentive to encourage private landowners in the New Territories to surrender their land parcels to the government for development. These proposals take into consideration interests of various stakeholders, help unleash the development potential of land, increase housing supply, and lead to a multi-wins situation.

Land Readjustment is a mechanism that proves to be effective internationally, whereby private landowners voluntarily contribute their land parcels to the government in return for development rights in a newly replotted and readjusted site. The Centre suggests that through a process of land readjustment, landowners fulfill the developers’ obligation in contributing a portion of their land for public housing and facilities, the development rights for the remaining land must comply with the premium mechanism before execution of new development. Land readjustment allows all stakeholders to share the interests in land development, while the Government unleashes a remarkable quantity of land supply in the short-to-medium term.

Along this line, the Centre proposes the issuing of “Land Bonds” to gather suitable land in the New Territories. These land bonds must be freely transferable on public trading platform, land bond holders can exercise them to redeem other plots of land or future land that the Government will create by reclamation. It is a means to meet a present urgent need with a deferred remedy, i.e. to exchange readily available developable land for future new land. It exhibits the Government’s zeal and determination to assume responsibility to resolve the land supply problem, it helps stabilize property prices and contribute to the long-term development of the SAR.

The research team will present the detailed proposals in a media briefing on July 30 (Monday). Details are as follows:
Date: July 30, 2018 (Monday)
Time: 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
Venue: Room KB531, 5/F, Knowles Building, the University of Hong Kong,

Speakers:
Professor Chau Kwong Wing, Head and Chair Professor of Real Estate & Construction Dept
Professor Lawrence Lai, Professor of Real Estate & Construction Dept
Dr Lennon Choy, Associate Professor of Real Estate & Construction Dept

For enquiries, please contact Ms. Irene Chow at 9839 4474 or email to ckirene@hku.hk