c)
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since standard mortgages are 15 years.
Provided longer leases can be given soon
the issue will be avoided.
(ii) The Hong Kong Government becomes unable
to raise loans, because of lack of
international confidence, to finance
major projects such as a new airport,
and this is known to be the case. This
will come up in 1982/83 and there are
other examples about the same time.
Such projects and how to tackle them will
probably have to be discussed with the
Chinese Government, but the problem of
securing finance would be eased if at the
time loans are sought (ie 1982/83)
uncertainty had been removed about post-1997
land values and titles as in (i) above.
If the short-term problem is not met
There is no immediate question of the sort of
sauve-qui-peut that occurred in Shanghai in 1947/48
when whole factories were dismantled and owners and
work forces emigrated. But a very large amount of
capital in Hong Kong is in real estate. This sort of
property is normally sold while it is still being built.
/ Developers
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