at two or three times the upset price. The total realized premium amounted to $341,935,000, which included $258,000,000 (payable by interest-free instalments over ten years) for a commercial or hotel site off Connaught Road, Central, Hong Kong. The latter was by far the highest premium ever realized for the sale of a piece of Crown land in the Colony. One or two Land Office Assistant Registrars attend all auction sales to supervise the execution of the Conditions of Sale by the successful purchasers.
34. At the fall of the hammer the successful bidder for a non-industrial lot has to pay a specified sum as a deposit and in part payment of the premium, the balance of premium being payable within one month. For industrial sites in the Kwun Tong, Sam Ka Tsuen, Tsuen Wan and Kwai Chung areas 90% of the premium may be paid in up to twenty equal annual instalments with interest at 5% per annum. In sales of industrial land outside those special areas, the successful bidder for an industrial lot pays the premium by four equal instalments, interest-free, over two years, which is the normal building covenant period for such lots, the first instalment within three days of the sale, the second within twelve months, the third within eighteen and the fourth and last within twenty-four months from the sale.
35. Where sale conditions for industrial lots give the option of paying the premium by instalments, they also provide that purchasers electing to pay by instalments shall not be entitled to assign, underlet or otherwise dispose of the lot until the whole amount of the premium and interest has been paid. In some cases there is a further condition prohibiting sub-division of the lot and building without the consent of the Director of Public Works. Having regard to the prevailing circumstances, the Government decided to allow subletting of these industrial buildings or parts thereof without prior payment of the outstanding premium and interest, on certain terms and conditions set out in an announcement made in Feburary 1967. If, where the anti-split condition exists, the Director of Public Works has given his prior consent, permission to sublet will on application be given by way of modification of the sale conditions providing for one or other of two alternatives specified in the announcement. The second of these alternatives, allowing subletting of the whole building, is available only to owners holding under Condi- tions of Grant or Sale dated prior to 3rd January 1967. Subject to certain terms and conditions set out in an announcement made on 18th July 1968, holders of industrial lots who acquired the lots prior to 3rd July
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