Hong Kong Developer Donates Land to Mitigate Housing Crisis

(Bloomberg) --Wheelock Properties Ltd. will donate several plots of land to charity for social housing in Hong Kong, following in the footsteps of fellow developers as anti-government protests continue to dog the city, Wheelock said.

Hong Kong-based Wheelock will hand over 500,000 square feet (46,450 square meters) of land in the New Territories and Lantau Island to nongovernment organizations for a nominal sum of HK$1 ($0.13) for each plot. The plots can be used to construct apartments for people waiting for public housing. Around 6,000 families are expected to benefit. The area represents about 7% of the developer’s total land bank, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Wheelock is the third top developer to pledge to help solve the housing shortage in Hong Kong -- the world’s least affordable home market -- as pro-democracy demonstrations cripple the city’s economy, deterring tourists and mainland shoppers. Chinese state media has lambasted Hong Kong’s homebuilders for fueling young people’s anger by pushing up property prices. The city’s property tycoons have responded by offering land in the New Territories, where they have vast amounts of stock.

In September, New World Development Co. became the first to announce a donation of almost 20% of its land bank to charity. Henderson Land Development Co., which has previous experience in social housing, followed suit less than two months later, saying it would give 428,000 square feet of land for the construction of so-called transitional housing.

Hong Kong’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, offered HK$1 billion, rather than land, for small and medium-sized businesses.

The city’s income inequality was the highest for any developed economy in 2016 at a 45-year high. About one in five residents live below the poverty line; some people have resorted to living illegally in steel boxes or industrial estates because they can’t afford a home.

Shares of parent company Wheelock & Co. were little changed Monday. The stock has risen 15.3% this year.