TNAG-1607-FCO40-22122-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1987 — Page 228

Supplementary to Question No. 7 in LegCo Meeting on 7.1.87

: Sir, will the Government inform

Mr. LAI (in Cantonese)

this Council what is the proportion of the public housing

for the future? and Home Ownership Scheme units And to solve the housing problem one of the solutions is to encourage those with high incomes to buy Home Ownership Scheme units. How will the Government proceed with this proposal, and are there better ways to bring this about?

Secretary for District Administration: The housing and home purchase is at present 30,000 rented housing against 10,000, of which 5,000 flats are from Home Ownership Scheme and about 5,000

sector from the private participation scheme. the question of improving

As regards

the entry into the Home Ownership Scheme, the demand fluctuates from scheme to scheme, depending on the current interest rates, flat design, location and so on but for the moment, the 50 per cent allocation to Green Form applicants are not all taken up.

MR CHUNG: The Home Purchase Loan Scheme is a new idea. Can the Secretary tell us what are the main basic principles and characteristics of this scheme, for example, who can enjoy the

what is loan and the size of the loan?

df

Secretary for District Administration:

the

Sir, the general idea

is for Government to make loans to eligible home purchasers, to help them to purchase flats in the private sector. The initial thinking is that the loans will carry lower interest rates than those available in the market, to be repaid to Government over the mortgage repayment period. The details of the scheme are still being worked out.

Mr. CHEONG-LEEN: Sir, in the context of this reply, will there be an expansion of the private sector participation programme and after this Home Purchase Loan Scheme is introduced, will that scheme also be made available to purchasers under the private sector participation scheme?

Secretary for District Administration: Sir, as I have said, the Home Purchase Loan Scheme is still being worked out. As for the question of whether or not the PSPS will be expanded, it really