Round-clock Crossing to Hike Demand for Mainland Property

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Monday, January 06, 2003

Round-clock Crossing to Hike Demand for Mainland Property

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In the anticipation of increased convenience afforded by the imminent implementation of 24-hour border crossing between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, demand for mainland property is expected to soar.

The property section of the Hong Kong-based Ta Kung Pao newspaper commented Monday that with the Chinese mainland economy forecast to grow 7 to 8 percent in 2003, Hong Kong people's demand for mainland property is expected to grow 12 percent on a national scale.

The forecast seems in line with a survey conducted recently by Hong Kong-based Land Power International Holdings Ltd, which revealed that the year 2003 will see Hong Kong people's demand for mainland property grow 11.1 percent or about 22,500 to 23,500 flats, with the number of transactions growing about 12 percent to12.3 billion renminbi yuan (1.57 billion US dollars).

The paper added that the growth in demand for flats in the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone is expected to be even more prominent and is forecast at more than 20 percent or about 13,000 flats for 2003. This compares with about 10,700 flats recorded in 2002.

According to a recent survey conducted by the Central Policy Unit of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government, about 30 percent of the 14,244 people surveyed here have expressed hopes that 24-hour border crossing can be implemented as soon as possible.

Choi Ngai Min, chairman of Land Power International Holdings, said the higher demand is mainly due to many companies continuing to expand businesses on the mainland and Hong Kong people increasingly seeking jobs across the border. He cited the imminent implementation of 24-hour border crossing at Huanggang border checkpoint and Shanghai's winning the bid to host the World Expo in 2010 as other reasons fueling the demand.

"But 24-hour border crossing between the two sides is also beneficial to the HKSAR. As for the HKSAR, the implementation is expected to boost demand for luxury flats here by mainland businessmen, as convenience will be afforded to stimulate enterprises in Shenzhen, the Pearl River Delta area and other private sector owners on the mainland to set up businesses here," he said.

The Ta Kung Pao newspaper also said that the past two weeks have seen Hong Kong people taking reconnaissance trips to Shenzhen increase by about 60 percent, with purchases up by 25 percent.

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