Hong Kong developers plunged into turmoil amid concerns Beijing targeting property firms, six firms lose US$11 billion in market value
Reuters report that Chinese officials have told Hong Kong developers they should use their resources and influence to champion state interests prompts sell-off
Although no policies have been announced, we suggest maintaining a defensive stance on Hong Kong developers: Citi analyst
HONG KONG, Sept 17 (Reuters) - As Beijing seeks to tighten its grip over Hong Kong, it has a new mandate for the city's powerful property tycoons: pour resources and influence into backing Beijing's interests, and help solve a potentially destabilising housing shortage.
Chinese officials delivered the message in closed meetings this year amid broader efforts to bring the city to heel under a sweeping national security law and make it more "patriotic," according to three major developers and a Hong Kong government adviser familiar with the talks.
"The rules of the game have changed," they were told, according to a source close to mainland officials, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter. Beijing is no longer willing to tolerate "monopoly behaviour," the source added.
For Hong Kong's biggest property firms, that would be a big shift. The companies have long exerted outsized power under the city’s hybrid political system, helping choose its leaders, shaping government policies, and reaping the benefits of a land auction system that kept supply tight and property prices among the world's highest.
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/with-tighter-grip-beijing-sends-message-hong-kong-tycoons-fall-line-2021-09-17/