XN000022-1973-10-11 — Page 3

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Thursday, October 11, 1973

EMPLOYERS CAN HELP STAFF BUY FLATS HOUSING SECRETARY

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Mr. Ian Lightbody, Secretary for Housing, today (Thursday)

encouraged employers to lend their staff money to make substantial

downpayments to buy flats in the private sector.

Speaking at the Personnel Management Club luncheon, Mr. Lightbody

said that years ago the government introduced a scheme in which employers

could buy land from the government at one-third the market value to build

accommodation for employees. A few big firms took advantage of this

concession but, over the years, the scheme had virtually died, mainly

because of the scarcity of suitable sites and their high value.

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Today if employers seek to assist their staff in any way to

get a decent roof over their heads, some other approach is needed," he said.

The Hong Kong Building and Loan Agency, he said, offered mortgage

funds over a 12-year repayment period at 10 per cent interest. But land

prices had shot up over the past year- although they had started to drift

back and building costs were now around $90 a square foot of floor space.

"Although the sale price of small flats has dropped by 20 to 25 por cent

since the peak reached by the beginning of the year, the price will still

be beyond the means of many lower middle-income families who are too well-off

to be eligible for public housing and not sufficiently well-off to be able

to fend for themselves in the private sector," he said.

Families