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TUESDAY, MARCH 20, 1979
TAX EXEMPTION ON INTEREST RAISED
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INTEREST PAYABLE BY LICENSED BANKS, BY CERTAIN PUBLIC UTILITIES AND BY THE GOVERNMENT AT RATES OF UP TO 5-3/4 PER CENT PER ANNUM WILL BE EXEMPTED FROM INTEREST TAX FROM TODAY (TUESDAY), A GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN ANNOUNCED.
HE SAID THIS REPRESENTS AN INCREASE OF HALF PER CENT IN THE EXEMPTION LIMIT AND FOLLOWS THE ANNOUNCEMENT BY THE EXCHANGE BANKS' ASSOCIATION LAST SATURDAY (MARCH 17) THAT THE RATE OF INTEREST PAYABLE ON SAVINGS ACCOUNTS WOULD BE SIMILARLY RAISED TO 5-3/4 PER CENT, ALSO WITH EFFECT FROM TODAY.
KEEN BIDDING FOR TUEN MUN COMMERCIAL-RESIDENTIAL SITE
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A COMMERCIAL-RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT SITE AT TUEN MUN NEW TOWN WAS TODAY (TUESDAY) SOLD FOR $32.5 MILLLION AT A PUBLIC AUCTION.
THE PRICE WAS THE EQUIVALENT OF $20,312 PER SQUARE METRE ALMOST DOUBLE THE PRICE OF $10,760 PAID FOR A LOT IN THE SAME AREA
IN JANUARY LAST YEAR.
THE 1,600-SQUARE METRE SITE WAS KNOCKED_DOWN TO THE KAI HEI LAND CO. LTD. AFTER SPIRITED BIDDING AMONG AT LEAST SIX POTENTIAL BUYERS PUSHED UP THE OPENING BID OF $14.5 MILLION.
THE SITE IS ADJACENT TO TUEN MUN'S PROPOSED TOWN CENTRE, THE FIRST STAGE OF WHICH IS SCHEDULED FOR DEVELOPMENT LATER THIS YEAR.
THE SENIOR ESTATE SURVEYOR OF THE TUEN MUN DISTRICT OFFICE, MR. VICTOR LEUNG, SAID THE COMPETITION AMONG TODAY'S BIDDERS REFLECTED A KEEN ́AWARENESS OF THE POTENTIAL OF THE NEW TOWN.
+THE TOWN CENTRE WILL BE THE SHOWPIECE OF TUEN MUN AND AS THIS SITE IS RIGHT ALONGSIDE IT WILL BE MUCH SOUGHT-AFTER RESIDENTIAL AREA, HE ADDED.
MR. LEUNG ALSO AUCTIONED AN INDUSTRIAL SITE OF 2,935 SQUARE METRES IN SHEK PAT TAU ROAD. THE SUCCESSFUL BIDDER WAS THE HOI KA CO. LTD., WHICH PAID $22.1 MILLION, OR $7,530 PER SQUARE METRE.
THIS WAS DOWN ON THE PREVIOUS PRICE OF $9,180 PER SQUARE METRE AT AN AUCTION LAST OCTOBER BUT WAS NONETHELESS SATISFACTORY PRICE IN VIEW OF THE RECENT INCREASE IN INTEREST RATES, MR. LEUNG SAID.
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