〈The Standard, Dec 17, 2022〉More than 11,000 completed apartments have yet to be put on sale, which is 3.4 times the 2,500 units at the end of last year and the highest level in recent years, reports Sing Tao Daily, sister publication of The Standard.

About 90 percent, or more than 9,700 units, are small and medium-sized. And about 45 percent - more than 5,000 units - are in the Kai Tak new development area.

The largest is the 2,138-unit area 4A No 1 project in Kai Tak, which is led by K Wah International (0173) in partnership with China Overseas Land and Investment (0688) and Wheelock. It is being developed in two phases.

〈Hong Kong Business, Dec 16, 2022〉With continued expansion of the wealth market, experts believe that the number of affluent individuals in Hong Kong will grow yearly by 3.3% between 2022 to 2026.

According to data analytics company GlobalData, the affluent population accounted for 56.7% of the city state’s total population at the end of 2021.

This year, GlobalData expects the affluent population, which includes mass affluent investors (holding liquid assets of $50,000–$1m) and high-net-worth (HNW) individuals (holding liquid assets of more than $1m) to grow by 3.7%.

〈Hong Kong Business, Dec 15, 2022〉Hang Seng Bank has announced that it will be raising its prime lending rate by 25 basis points from 5.375% per annum (p.a). to 5.625% p.a.

The decision to adjust the rate was because of various market factors, including the macroeconomic environment, cost of funding, interbank rate levels and aggregate balance in Hong Kong’s banking sector, Diana Cesar, Executive Director and Chief Executive of Hang Seng said.

The bank’s Hong Kong dollar savings deposit rates for an account balance of $5k or above will also be increased from 0.375% p.a. to 0.625% p.a.

The bonus interest rate for Hong Kong dollar savings account balances under integrated accounts with a total relationship balance of $1m or above will remain unchanged at 0.001% p.a.

〈Asian Post, Dec 14, 2022〉Hong Kong’s gross national income increased by 0.3% in the third quarter of 2022 to $792.7b, according to recent government data.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP), estimated at $729.8b at current market prices in the same quarter, recorded a 0.2% decrease compared to a year earlier. The value of GNI was larger than GDP by $62.8b in the third quarter of 2022, which was equivalent to 8.6% of GDP in that quarter, mainly attributable to a net inflow of investment income.

After netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, Hong Kong's GNI decreased by 2.6% in real terms in the third quarter of 2022 from a year earlier. The corresponding GDP in the same quarter decreased by 4.5% in real terms.

〈Asian Post, Dec 13, 2022〉The government’s proposal to speed up land development-related statutory procedures will not preempt the Legislative Council’s duties and monitoring functions, Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn said.

This stemmed from the Development Bureau’s proposal to amend the existing procedures to compress development timetables and speed up land production.

Included in the amendments is allowing the government to begin the resumption of land and provision of rehousing and compensation as long as it is approved by the executive council's approval, without waiting for LegCo's approval of the relevant works funding.