Macau Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Association President Stanley Au Chong Kit said on Thursday he expected housing prices in the city to drop this year, in the expectation that the US Fed will raise interest rates several times in the year ahead.
He also urged local residents to be careful about engaging in investment activities this year due to the possible US Fed interest rate rises.
Au made the remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a seminar about the economic and political prospects of the world after US President-elect Donald Trump becomes president in Washington, DC, today (1 a.m. tomorrow Macau time).
The seminar was co-organised by Au’s association and his company – Delta Asia Financial Group – on the Macau Polytechnic Institute (IPM) campus.
In addition to Au as a guest speaker, three other guest speakers were invited – Edward Chen Kwan-yiu, a former president of Lingnan University in Hong Kong; Hong Kong current affairs commentator Johnny Lau Yui-siu; and Delta Asia Financial Group Chief Operating Officer Victor Au Yip Hang.
Speaking to reporters, Au, who is president of Delta Asia Financial Group, said it was widely forecast in the market that the US Fed will raise interest rates three times this year. He added that as the US Fed will begin its “rate rise cycle”, he therefore expected the cost of housing in the city to drop this year.
Au also said he expected the housing supply in Macau and Hong Kong to increase in coming years, which he said would also cause housing prices to drop. He added that if the number of non-resident workers in Macau fell, the housing demand would go down, which he said would also cause the city’s housing prices to decline.
Au also said that the central government would continue its economic policies – moving from a focus of exports to domestic consumption, which he said would cause less money to flow into Macau and Hong Kong.
Au also said “I am sure Donald Trump will launch trade wars, but to what extent?”
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
