Hong Kong’s CY Leung, Centaline founder clash over housing supply projections

A war of words between a former leader of Hong Kong and a major real estate agency has escalated over the government’s housing supply projections, with Centaline Property Agency founder Shih Wing-ching saying the criticism involving his firm amounts to “a personal attack”.

Shih on Tuesday pushed back against remarks by former chief executive Leung Chun-ying, who wrote four social media posts criticising the agency in the past four days.

Leung is now vice-chairman of the country’s top political advisory body, the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.

Shih had publicly accused the administration of inflating the supply statistics to create a perception among residents that authorities had been making progress when the actual number should be lower than presented.

Leung earlier defended the inclusion of unsold flats in supply numbers in the next few years and questioned if Shih wanted to boost his company’s commission income by making such remarks.

Appearing on a radio programme, Shih said on Tuesday: “How could I challenge [Leung] as [one of the] state leaders? … If you discuss an issue with me, let’s focus on that. If the discussion involves my business, then it is a personal attack.”