Chen Delin: The property market has not been determined

The Director of the HKMA, Mr Chan Tak-lam, said that the property market and trading volume of the property market have also improved, and it will take more time to observe whether the property market in Hong Kong has entered the down cycle.

Chen Delin also pointed out that the identity of the HKMA is only a currency board. It cannot take the initiative to regulate the property market through interest rate policies. There are still other factors outside the interest rate that affect property prices, such as land supply, public income and external purchasing power.

In addition, Chen Delin said that there were 8 applicants entering the final due diligence stage of the virtual banking licensing. The progress is now good and the target will be maintained before the end of March.

The HKMA plans to introduce the Hong Kong dollar overnight average index (HONIA) as a reference interest rate other than Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate (HIBOR). Chen Delin pointed out that HONIA and HIBOR face the same limitation, that is, the market lacks sufficient trading volume to support longer-term interest rates; HIBOR and HONIA are likely to coexist, but there is no conclusion yet.