MIGRATION ISSUES OF HONG KONG RELATED TO … · 9 “Migration Policy Institute: Rapid Growth in...
Transcript of MIGRATION ISSUES OF HONG KONG RELATED TO … · 9 “Migration Policy Institute: Rapid Growth in...
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MIGRATION ISSUES OF
HONG KONG RELATED
TO HOUSING
Submitted By: Group C
NANYANG TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY University Scholars Programme, Jan 2015
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction ............................................................................................................ 2
2. Singapore Case Study ............................................................................................ 3
2.1 Housing Policies ........................................................................................ 3
2.2 Immigration Policies ................................................................................. 5
3. Hong Kong Case Study .......................................................................................... 6
3.1 Housing Policies ........................................................................................ 6
3.2 Immigration Policies ................................................................................. 6
4. Similarities between Hong Kong and Singapore ................................................. 6
5. Analysis of Singapore and Hong Kong policies ................................................... 9
6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 10
7. Appendices ........................................................................................................... 14
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1. Introduction
Hong Kong is often compared to Singapore due to the vast number of similarities
between the two countries, such as their booming economic status and great
population density. In 2013, Hong Kong’s population density was 6,650 people per
square kilometre1 while it is that of 7,713 in Singapore2. Given that there is finite land
for both countries to house their residents, housing issue is indeed a cause of concern
for both countries.
In Hong Kong, a significant problem stemming from such a concern would be the
lack of affordable accommodation, as demand severely outweighs the supply of
housing. In Singapore, overcrowding has also become a political issue. Liberal
immigration policies have been blamed for generating a large influx of foreigners that
has led to a plethora of housing problems as well as social tension.
Our report will begin with a general overview of the different policies that both
governments use to approach their own housing and immigration issues. We will then
compare the two housing and immigration situations in Hong Kong and Singapore,
bringing to light the differences that lie behind their similarities.
In the report, we will also look at the limitations of strategies put forward by the two
countries and assess how both countries can adopt features from one another to
alleviate the housing situation while taking into account the differences between Hong
Kong and Singapore with regard to immigration.
1 Hong Kong: The Facts. 2 Population density (people per sq. km of land).
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2. Singapore Case Study
2.1 Housing Policies
In Singapore, the Ministry of National Development (MND) takes charge of land
planning and works with the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in the area of
public housing, with an objective of providing all Singaporeans with affordable and
quality flats.3 One key tenet of Singapore’s housing policy is to encourage ownership
of flats so as to involve citizens in the development of their country.4
Year Approximate Number of Public Flats built by HDB
Percentage of Population Living In Public Flats
1968 90,000 9% 1975 150,000 42%
1978 500,000 70%
Table 1: Number of Public Flats built by HDB and Percentage of Population Living In Public Flats.5
2.1.1 Policies to ensure affordability
A main focus of housing policies is directed towards ensuring affordability of the flats.
In 1964, the MND implemented the Home Ownership for the People Scheme, which
sold flats at subsidized prices to citizens with low income.6 At the same time, the
government introduced policies to ensure that the lower-income elderly population
has adequate retirement funds, especially when life expectancy is increasing. The
Lease Buyback Scheme, for instance, allows the elderly owners of HDB flats to
receive a bounty when they sell a portion of their remaining lease back to the
government.7
3 Singapore Ministry of National Development, “Corporate Handbook: Growing Singapore into a Distinctive City,” December 2011, 4. MND was set up in 1959, after Singapore obtained self-rule from Britain. HDB was formed in 1960. 4 C.M Turnbull, A History of Modern Singapore 1819-2005, (Singapore: NUS Press, 2009) 317. 5 Yap, Lim and Leong, Men In White, 386-387 and Turnbull, A History of Modern Singapore, 317. 6 HDB InfoWeb: Public Housing in Singapore (Home Ownership Scheme). 7 HDB InfoWeb: Public Housing in Singapore (Lease Buyback Scheme).
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Employers in the Singapore construction industry can import 7 foreign workers for
every local hired. These foreign workers command lower wages than locals, which
significantly lower the cost of production of building new flats, thus reducing the cost
of housing in Singapore. Currently, employers are already facing higher operational
cost as a result of recently tightened foreign worker inflows.
Table 2. Direct Impact of foreign labour restrictions on tend growth in Singapore from Credit Suisse estimates. According to a survey conducted by the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce
and Industry, 70% of the construction industry is seriously affected by the tightened
labour policy. It is evident that affordability of housing in Singapore is very
dependent on importing cheap foreign labour to lower the construction costs.
2.2 Immigration Policies
Singapore has always been a melting pot of different cultures in the world due to its
strategic location for maritime trade. In a dialogue with Dr. Cherian George, he
mentioned that the city-state was “cosmopolitan and multi-cultural” before it was
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being recognized as “Singapore”.8 The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) takes charge of
the immigration of low-skilled labour in Singapore. Since the first decade of the 21st
century, there has been an increasing pool of nonresident population in Singapore.
(Appendix- Table 1) This was a consequence from a string of policies to attract and
rely on foreign manpower to overcome the constraints of local human capital.
According to the Migration Policy Institute, about 870,000 of the immigration
population are low-skilled workers primarily in the construction, domestic labor,
services, manufacturing, and marine industries.9 Year Total Labour Force No. of Foreign workers Percent of total
labour force 1970 650,892 20,828 3.2 1980 1,077,090 119,483 7.4 1990 1,537,000 248,200 16.1 2000 2,192,300 615,700 28.1 2010 3,135,900 1,088,600 34.7
Table 3: Increasing percent of Foreign Workers in total labour force in Singapore.10
As shown above, Singapore relies heavily on foreign workers in its national
development. Because locals are reluctant to take up jobs that pay low wages, foreign
workers are often imported to fill these necessary positions. However, the Singapore
government has been cautious in its immigration policies; low-skilled foreign workers
are managed through the work-permit system, the dependency ceiling and the foreign-
worker levy. All these schemes aim at managing the low-skilled foreign workers such
that Singapore does not over-rely on foreign workers and ensures that locals still have
their rightful place in these industries.
8 Cherian George, Singapore The Air Conditioned Nation: Essays on the politics of comfort and control, (Singapore: Landmark Books, 2008) 170. 9 “Migration Policy Institute: Rapid Growth in Singapore's Immigrant Population Brings Policy Challenges”. 10 “Migration Policy Institute: Rapid Growth in Singapore's Immigrant Population Brings Policy Challenges”.
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Table 4: Singapore’s Total Resident and Non-Resident Workforce11
Given the increasing friction between Singaporeans and new migrants, immigration is
a central topic of debate in Singapore.12 In response, the government has tightened
regulations pertaining to immigrant policies. A tricky equilibrium has to be struck to
balance the wishes of the citizens in building a resident-majority populace and that of
ensuring sufficient supply of workers in the housing industry. This will be elaborated
upon in Section 5.1 of this paper.
3. Hong Kong Case Study
3.1 Housing Policies
Hong Kong is ranked the second most expensive city to live and work in, mostly due
to its steep property and rental prices13. It faces a housing supply shortage as well as
the problem of housing unaffordability.
11 Ibid. 12 “The Workers’ Party: A Sustainable Singapore with a Dynamic Singaporean majority – MP Low Thia Khiang”. 13 Property prices: London ranked the world’s most expensive city.
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Hong Kong can only develop a limited percentage of its land for housing due to its
mountainous terrains. In addition, there are large private holdings of conservation
areas which prevent Hong Kong from developing the land on these grounds. The
Country Parks Ordinance has included around 40 percent of Hong Kong's land,
meaning 40 percent of its land is not available for any development plans. The Hong
Kong Government suggested that adjacent islands can be connected through
reclamation and construction of bridges. However, environmental protection critics
strongly oppose this idea because nature will be affected. This will be elaborated in
section 5.2 later.
Hong Kong’s high housing prices also stems from Hong Kong’s economic history as
well as its government policies. From 1995 to 1997, Hong Kong’s housing faced a
hike in real prices. After 1997, its property market crashed. Prices plunged to new
lows and the housing transaction volume, which rose dramatically from 68,000 in
1995 to over 172,000 in 1997, saw a large fall to 85,000 the following year14. When
the Asian Financial Crisis hit, housing prices continued to fall until 2003. The fall in
demand for housing saw a slack in the planning and development of new estates.
When demand started to rise again, Hong Kong could not react in time due to
implementation lead time.
Hong Kong’s housing market is largely dominated by the private sector, of which
includes affluent property tycoons. They are able to partially control the housing
market to allow property prices to rise. In addition, with the Mainland Chinese
14 University of Pennsylvania. Attention, Speculators: Here’s a Lesson from Hong Kong’s Housing Bubble.
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becoming more affluent, property investment immigration is now increasingly a
viable factor. With near-zero mortgage interest rates, holding on to an empty unit is
cheap, giving little incentive to owners to sell off their vacant units. Most do not rent
out the flats if they do not get the rent that they want15. Such factors stemming from
the private sector has contributed to an increase in Hong Kong’s housing prices.
To make housing more affordable for the poor, the Home Ownership Scheme was
implemented so that Hong Kong citizens would be able to purchase flats at subsidised
rates if they meet the income cap. Based on the latest data provided, about 46% of the
housing market involve public housing, of which 30.4% are public rental units and
only 15.5% are owned by the people16. Hence, the private sector plays an important
role in meeting the housing needs of the community.
3.2 Hong Kong Immigration Policies
Hong Kong’s low-skilled immigrants can be divided into three main bodies:
imported workers, foreign domestic helpers (FDH) and New Immigrants. FDHs will
not be discussed in this paper because of their limited influence on the housing
market.
3.2.1 Imported workers
Hong Kong’s supplementary labour scheme (SLS) is administered by the Labour
Department of the HKSAR. To import workers under the SLS, employers need to
apply at the Application Office of the Labour Department for approval. This scheme
was implemented to help Hong Kong deal with the labour crunch, yet at the same
time protect the job prospects and wages of the locals by regulating the inflow.
15 Wouter van Marie, Tai Po. No housing shortage in Hong Kong, just not enough affordable flats. 16 Hong Kong Housing Authority. Housing in Figures.
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Graph 1. Number of actual imported labour in Hong Kong from 1996 to 2012. Adapted from http://www.socialindicators.org.hk/en/indicators/employment_and_income_security/9.12 Because of SLS, as well as the General Importation of Labour Scheme among many
others, Hong Kong has significantly reduced its number of imported workers from
12869 in 1996 to 2415 in 2012. 17
Through primary research18, it was obvious that Hong Kong is reluctant to import
low-skilled workers. Despite the labour crunch, the CIC showed little intention to hire
foreign workers but rather rely on research and development in new technologies to
improve efficiency of the construction industry in Hong Kong. This finding
corroborates the above quantitative data of the imported labour in Hong Kong.
3.2.2 New Immigrants
New Immigrants refer specifically to Mainland Chinese who migrate from China to
Hong Kong. They make up a significant proportion of the overall population
17 Social Indicators of Hong Kong. Number of imported labour (actual) 18 Our group visited the Construction Industry Council (CIC), a government organization that aims to strengthen and unite the construction industry in Hong Kong, and had a discussion session with relevant authorities there to learn more about their operations and policies.
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increase19. The number of New Immigrants coming from Mainland China has been
increasing over the years. Currently, Hong Kong approves 150 applications a day via
the One-Way Permit (OWP)20, which means about 55,000 immigrants migrate to
Hong Kong from China every year. These new immigrants are often low-skilled21 and
are hardly able to afford the high housing prices in Hong Kong22. Since they must live
in Hong Kong for more than 7 years to become a Permanent Resident23, they are
unable to apply for public housing before that. About 40.2% of the new immigrants
are living in private residential flats and 38.3% are living in Housing Authority (HA)
public rental flats.
4. Similarities between Hong Kong and Singapore
4.1 Exorbitant Housing Prices
Over the years, the prices in the residential property market have been rising
incessantly (Figure 5). This mainly occurs due to the overwhelming demand, which
heavily outweighs the supply of housing in these two countries. In both Singapore and
Hong Kong, a factor leading to the excessive housing prices includes substantial
investment in the property market from foreign investors from around the world. This
is mainly due to both countries having a low interest rates and nearly zero real
mortgage rates. Consequently, this result in low borrowing costs, which aided by
positive economic outlook, has attracted investments from around the world into the
19 CNN. Migrants shaping Hong Kong’s new face. 20 Births and inflow of One-way Permit holders (OWPHs) were important constituents of the overall population increase. The number of births from mid-2013 to mid-2014 was 58 700 and the inflow of OWPHs was 43 500. 21 Immigration Department, Government of Hong Kong SAR. Arrangement for Entry to Hong Kong from Mainland China. 22 Only 5.8% of the adult new arrivals had a university or higher level of education; over half (55.1%) had a junior high school level education or below. Most of the employed adult new arrivals committed were service and sales workers or elementary workers. 23 Verification of Eligibility for a Permanent Identity Card.
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market for housing (Chin & Strand, 2008). The influx of such investments has placed
immense pressure on the prices of residential properties in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Figure 5: House Prices in Hong Kong per Square Metre
In Hong Kong, the average cost of housing is about S$22,814 per square metre while
it is that of S$15,21 in Singapore, both countries topping the chart among 11 countries
24 25. According to research done by Savills Singapore, purchases by foreigners had
accounted for around 23% of the total residential property sales transactions in
Singapore in the first half of Quarter 4 2012. However, due to effective cooling
measures conducted by the Singapore government such as the implementation of
Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty, the percentage of foreign buyers in the private
residential market has fallen over the years. On the other hand, the Hong Kong
government has also implemented cooling measures such as the Stamp Duty and
Loan to Value. However, such measures are not as effective in curbing rocketing
24 Global Property Guide. Square Metre Prices – Singapore Compared to Continent. 25 Agarwal, S., et al. A cost analysis of prices of houses in Singapore.
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housing prices, as the Hong Kong housing market is still one that mainly operates
freely and the government does not have as much space to intervene.
Figure 6: Percentage of Foreign Buyers in the Private Residential Market in Singapore
4.2 Disinclination towards the Construction Industry
There has been an increasing trend of reluctance to join the construction industry,
especially amongst the youths in both Hong Kong and Singapore. According to a
statement by the Singapore Business Federation chief executive Ho Meng Kit,
companies in sectors like construction still face difficulty in hiring locals (Teh, 2012).
Figure 7: Employed Residents Aged Fifteen Years and Over by Industry, Age and Sex, June 2013 (in
thousands). Source: Ministry of Manpower in Singapore
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As illustrated from data taken from the MOM in Singapore, the total local labour
force comprises of only 101,900 workers in the construction industry. According to a
statement by the Singapore Business Federation chief executive Ho Meng Kit,
companies in sectors like construction still face difficulty in hiring locals (Teh, 2012).
Likewise, we found out that Hong Kong faces the same labour shortage problem from
an interview we conducted at the CIC. Statements made by CIC mentioned that there
are about 320,000 registered construction workers but only about 70,000 of these
workers are active (Siu, 2014). This emphasizes the unwillingness of locals to work
in the construction industry that thus leads to an acute shortage of labour faced by the
Hong Kong construction industry.
Figure 8: A CIC Advertisement at a Bus Stop. Source: CIC Facebook Page
However, one differing point between Hong Kong and Singapore with regards to this
disinclination that we have noted is that the CIC takes active measures to encourage
the local Hong Kong citizens to take up job vacancies in the construction industry.
Figure 8 shows a typical advertisement at one of the bus stop in Hong Kong. This was
done in light of Hong Kong’s foreign labour policy that makes it extremely difficult
to hire low-skilled foreign labour. Furthermore, CIC endorses young passionate
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adults, called “Build Up Ambassadors”, to promote the construction industry to the
public. Hence, Singapore is also recommended to look inward and employ measures
to enhance the attractiveness of the construction industry so that it can compete with
more “glamorous” sectors such as the financial sector in hiring local workers.
5. Analysis of Singapore and Hong Kong housing and immigration policies
Over the years, the Singapore and Hong Kong government have been using different
policies to manage their respective housing markets. However, they have led to the
same situation of high property prices26. Singapore has promoted home ownership
through the passage of time while Hong Kong has deviated from this original scheme
after the Asian Financial Crisis and the SARS epidemic. This part of the report will
focus on the limitations of their policies adopted in alleviating problems plaguing
housing markets. We will focus first on Singapore then on Hong Kong.
5.1 Singapore’s immigration and housing policies
On the backing of the Singapore government’s strong push for home ownership,
citizens were able to own houses with the aid of government loans, subsidies and CPF
policies as mentioned in the first part of this paper. However, this was made possible
only with high reliance on imported labour. This reliance is not without
consequences. The increase in foreign construction workers have contributed to the
increase in social tension, especially with the recent SBS bus workers strike27 and the
Little India riots28 which involved huge numbers of imported labourers currently
residing in Singapore.
26 “Prices have more than doubled since 2008”. 27 102 SMRT bus drivers refuse to go to work. 28 Little India riot: 18 injured, 27 arrested.
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Even with a heavy reliance on imported labour to overcome local labour shortages,
Singapore’s housing prices has grown persistently due to an initial free-market policy,
which enabled overseas investors to invest in Singapore29. On one hand, it is argued
that appreciating housing prices serve as an asset that increases in value for retiring
citizens. This can contribute to retirement security especially with the lease buy back
scheme as mentioned earlier30. On the other hand, the benefit of such a policy still lies
with those who can own multiple properties. This leads to social inequity, which has
been reflected in Singapore’s consistently high Gini Coefficient figures which figure
has placed Singapore in the 29th position out of 136 countries surveyed31. Such
income inequality has also been another source of social tension in Singapore.
Moving away from the explicit limitations of Singapore’s housing policy, we can
draw deeper insights of the housing issue. In our dialogue with Dr. Cherian George,
he neatly organized Hong Kong and Singapore society into a dichotomy.
Singaporeans have the power of the vote but lack initiative to lead collective action.
On the other hand, the idea of collective action is prevalent in Hong Kong even
though its citizens do not have the power of a sovereign vote32. In light of this,
Singaporeans’ common displeasure against the immigration policy has been mounting
but has yet to erupt into any sizeable collective action. With collective action a force
to be reckoned with in Hong Kong and the strong and highly influencing trade unions
29 Rethinking Singapore’s housing policies, TODAY newspaper – housing prices has been outstripping the increase in median wage. 30 Living in HDB flats: Maximise your finances you’re your flat. 31 Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook. 32 Hong Kong citizens can vote for their chief executive from a pool of applicants approved by the central government according to Article 45 of the Hong Kong Basic Law. The electorate, hence, is not an apt representation of the entire Hong Kong demographic. This problem was exemplified during the Occupy Central protests where Hong Kong citizens wanted to abolish the approval process by the central government.
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present in the various industries, citizens in Hong Kong are able to mount a powerful
stance against relying on imported labour. This is an insight that we can learn from
Hong Kong.
A common thought between Singapore and Hong Kong is that of expectations. Prior
to the trip to Hong Kong, our group was confused as to why Hong Kong is not
actively relying on imported labour to solve their labour shortage – which has
contributed to higher housing prices. Our group ran interviews with many individuals
in the housing authority as well as professors in Hong Kong University (HKU) as
well as City University of Hong Kong (CUHK) and concluded that the answer was a
consistent one. Through the interviews, it is evident that young citizens of Hong
Kong, who face the brunt of steadily increasing housing prices, do not expect or look
forward to owning a house of their own. (Only concrete evidence of this is from our
interview with Randy and HKU’s Professor) On the other hand, they hold dear certain
ideals such as their freedom of speech. In particular, when interviewing Randy, a
post-graduate student from CUHK who is currently doing pro-bono service for
Helpers for Domestic Helpers (HDH) in Hong Kong, he reflects the common attitude
of the new generation of Hong Kong citizens33. The housing problem in Hong Kong,
from a Singaporean’s perspective, whose government has long been promoting
housing ownership, is severe but from the local’s perspective, it has already become a
way of life.
33 Refer to transcript
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5.2 Hong Kong’s immigration and housing policies
5.2.1 Land reclamation
The Hong Kong government’s current vision for land reclamation are mainly geared
towards non-housing development, which still poses a question as to how it can help
Hong Kong solve its housing problems.34 While some land reclamation, such as that
on the waterfront of Victoria Harbour are meant for housing development, several
concerns, such as the increase in traffic congestion in the area, have to be addressed.
Societies such as Society for Protection of the Harbour (SPH) have sprung up to
protect the harbor from the government’s reclamation works. In contrast, reclamation
projects in Singapore are carried out more smoothly due to the dearth of legislation
opposition. As mentioned above, new immigration is not the cause of escalating
prices. Without land reclamation as a feasible option, Hong Kong faces a serious
limitation in its land expansion efforts to bring prices down. (Appendix- table 2)
5.2.2 Inability to import foreign workers
Unlike Singapore, Hong Kong has policies that restrict the inflow of foreign labour as
mentioned above. This means that Hong Kong is disadvantaged with a huge limitation
because they could not exploit the cheap labour available overseas to drive the
housing prices down. Evidently, having a population with loud voices and strong
trade unions can be both a boon and a bane. In this case, the prowess of the people has
prevented necessary cooling measures from coming into existence. The hands of the
Hong Kong government are tied in attempting to solve housing issues because in
trying doing so entails bringing in a different set of problems such as public
displeasure in unsolicited government intervention in the market.
34 Lau, W. Land reclamation is not the answer to public housing shortage.
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5.2.3 Political stance
While the Hong Kong government faces pressing issues to solve the housing
problems, obstacles such as its free market policy prevent it from successfully doing
so. In addition, as mentioned by Professor Yip from HKU, passivity of the Hong
Kong government also contributes to the housing problems. Its decision making
process is often hampered by their own citizens. The collective power of Hong Kong
citizens plays a significant role in affecting government politics, pressuring and
dictating the housing policies implemented.
It can be seen that even though Singapore has to subsidize housing heavily, its
government has greater flexibility in imposition of demographic policies with
minimum complaints from its people. However, Hong Kong does not have that
political dominance to mete out large-scale policies that its country requires.
The Hong Kong government adopts a laissez-faire style of governance on its
economy, allowing only the demand and supply forces to allocate prices. Even though
Singapore is ranked after Hong Kong as one of the freest economy, the same cannot
be said for its housing market, which sees significant government intervention. As
described previously, the Singapore government implemented many schemes to
ensure its affordability, and imposes rules and regulations on housing ownership,
especially with regards to foreign immigrants. Unlike the Hong Kong government
that sees housing as a commodity, the Singapore government sees housing as a merit
good, and hence is responsible to ensure accommodation for its people. Perhaps one
viable solution would be for the Hong Kong government to gradually exercise more
intervention into its housing market to alleviate the housing situation.
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6. Conclusion
Prima facie, it may seem that Singapore and Hong Kong are very similar. Both share
a common history of a colonial past under the British rule and both also grow to
become Asian financial giants with prominent harbours and boast of flourishing trade
industries. However, these two countries diverge towards different paths since and
arrived today on similar outcomes based on different reasons. From the style of
governance to cultural differences, these disparities between two societies easily
surface when a national issue arises, such as that of solving housing problems and
reacting to immigration woes.
In light of the research done and interviews conducted in Hong Kong, it is palpable
that both Singapore and Hong Kong cannot take a back seat in dealing with the
housing crisis. As the demand for housing increases each year, this could prove to
adversely affect social stability and the standard of living of the citizens and
immigrants. Nonetheless, it is crucial to note that both countries are facing different
kinds of limitations that could hinder the effectiveness of their cooling measures
aimed at mitigating the exorbitant property prices, especially in the case of Hong
Kong. This could suggest that it would be prudent for both government to start
considering in investing in longer-term solutions, such as developing new and
efficient methods of building houses such as research and development (R&D) and
technology. Regardless, this could be complemented with the current efforts of the
government, as a short-run solution to soothe the escalating property prices.
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7. Appendices
Table 1
From http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/rapid-growth-singapores-immigrant-population-brings-policy-challenges
Table 2
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8. References
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