HK govt expands land supply but few takers

Hong Kong

THE Hong Kong government is expanding land supply amid muted demand from the city's biggest developers, signalling that prices have more room to drop.

Builders including Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd, the city's largest by market capitalisation, Cheung Kong Property Holdings Ltd and Henderson Land Development Co have been absent from the list of winning bidders for the eight parcels of land tendered by the government in the first half, as average land prices fell. They have been reluctant to stock up as home prices have slumped and sales of existing projects have been sluggish.