MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Cantonese): President, as pointed out in the main reply, it is not common for SSF owners to resell their flats within the first five years of purchase. But as Mr KWOK Wai-keung pointed out just now and as can been clearly seen from the Annex, the number in 2020 is 10 times higher than the number in 2019; and the number in the first half of 2021 alone is already comparable to that in 2020, meaning that the number this year may double that of 2020.
May I ask the Government whether it has looked into the reason for such a significant increase? Moreover, does this reflect the presence of speculative activities? In other words, are speculative activities becoming common, so much so that the Government should pay attention to this trend and strive to tackle it?
SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Cantonese): President, I thank Mr CHAN for his supplementary question. We can refer to the Annex for the number of CAS we issued each year, as well as the CAS issued to flats within the first two years and between the third to the fifth year from first assignment. Certainly, if we refer to the numbers, we find that 110 SSFs were resold between the third to the fifth year after first assignment in 2020. But we need to understand that in the past, 8 000 SSFs were resold in total. So, a relatively small percentage of SSFs have been resold within a short term.
But certainly, we understand Member’s point and we will monitor the situation closely. As Mr CHAN Kin-por pointed out just now, if there are signs that people resell their SSFs within a short term for profit, or that there is any deviation from our policy of offering SSFs for sale, we will reconsider the situation as appropriate. However, we have to understand that there has been a period of time, such as in 2019, 2020 or even in 2021 … frankly, we all know about the “black-clad violence” that plagued Hong Kong in 2019, and then people had a change in attitude towards emigration. So, do these figures somehow reflect the current condition of society? I dare not jump to any conclusion. However, based on these figures, there is indeed a rising trend. The figures did increase. But what could be the reasons behind? I dare not speculate here. But I believe the SSF owners concerned must have made due consideration when they resold their SSFs which they were only entitled to purchase once in their lifetime. I can only respond up to this point.