MPF Contributions Proposed to the Government for Not Specifying

[Hong Kong Business Daily] Reporter Some people in Hong Kong have expressed the view that the MPF contributions can be withdrawn for first home purchase. Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Liu Yi Cheung, who attended the Legislative Council meeting, said that MPF contributions for real estate Different opinions in society. He also raised objections that it would violate the original intention of the MPF as a retirement protection fund. He feared that investing regularly in the accumulated wealth will affect real estate investment. Once the property price plunges, the retirement savings will also be lost and debts may also be incurred At the same time, it has violated the government’s direction of controlling the property market. Coupled with the low MPF contribution ratio in Hong Kong, it is only a drop in the bucket by providing contributions to help home buyers.

The MPF as the first government has not yet finalized

Liu Yi-cheung said the relevant issues were complicated. When the Administration studied the proposals, it examined the arrangements for similarities in different countries, understood the feasibility of its implementation in Hong Kong and whether it was consistent with the objective of setting up a MPF scheme. At present, it is not yet concluded and the study is expected to be completed next year . He reminded members of the public that they are now embarking on a cycle of rate hikes. Investors should guard their risks and the government will not assume that the property market will rise or fall only.

He also pointed out that it is not considered that the allowance for the withdrawal of MPF as the initial setting is directly related to the performance of MPF investments. The MPF system allows for the diversification of investment risks and the use of MPF for home purchase to reduce the risk of diversification.

In addition, Mr TSE Wai-ques questioned the unsatisfactory performance of MPF return on investment and the MPFA also suffered an annual loss. Liu Yi Xiang said that long-term investment in hard metal should not be too much focus on short-term market conditions. He said when the Legislative Council established the MPFA that year, the relevant legislation stated that the MPFA could collect annual registration fee from the trustee. However, it was not implemented in the same year. In future, depending on the actual situation, the MPF will decide whether to apply the terms and impose an annual fee.