Surging Home Prices Rankle Hong Kong's First Leader Under China

  • Tung Chee-hwa cites lack of land supply over 8 to 10 years
  • Former chief highlights ‘deeper divide’ between rich, poor

A public housing estate in Hong Kong

Photographer: Billy H.C. Kwok/Bloomberg
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Tung Chee-hwa, Hong Kong’s first leader after the city’s return to Chinese rule, blamed soaring property prices on a lack of land supply and highlighted the social divisions caused by rising housing costs.

The 80-year-old veteran of Hong Kong and Chinese politics, who himself struggled with a housing boom that turned to bust, indicated his concern in a Bloomberg TV interview, as the city marks the 20th anniversary of its handover from Britain to China.