Opinion | Singapore is calm while Hong Kong boils, and it’s down to this city’s greedy developers and landlords profiting at the people’s expense

Hong Kong’s street protests are into their third month and continuing, disrupting traffic and daily life. The unrest is also having an adverse economic impact. Why is there not more public anger at these disrupters? An important reason is the widespread discontent over the housing crisis, brought on by the greed of property developers and landlords who are entrenched and politically connected.

In Hong Kong, less than 16 per cent of the population – or around 1.2 million people – live in subsidised “home ownership” flats. In Singapore, over 80 per cent, or about 4.5 million people, live in flats built by the public housing authority. Singapore’s Housing and Development Board builds and sells affordable flats on 99-year leases. These flats can later be sold in the resale market, just like private housing. Thus, Singaporeans are more contented than Hongkongers.

In Singapore, a young couple can buy a newly built flat of about 400 sq ft for less than HK$1.5 million (US$191,000). In Hong Kong, a flat roughly a quarter of the size (121 sq ft) in a 29-year-old publicly owned building in Tai Po sold for around HK$2 million in January last year.

It speaks of the difference between a socially conscious policy, and greed. It is what the first Hong Kong government failed to address, and what its successors overlooked, but what should be addressed now.

The government-appointed Task Force on Land Supply has pinpointed Hong Kong’s housing needs. The future looks grim. More than 250,000 people are waiting for public housing while many ageing housing blocks need to be replaced. Meanwhile, the population is expected to reach nine million by 2030 . Also, many units are occupied by people who could well afford to live in one of their investment properties instead.