Tone-deaf Ip should tone it down

Hong Kong's property market was stirred but not shaken by veteran lawmaker Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee yesterday when she said in an interview with Bloomberg that the government was looking at scrapping buyer's stamp duty on home purchases to attract mainland and non-local buyers.

Shares of developers rallied on the news, with New World Development at one point gaining 6 percent and Sun Hung Kai Properties, Henderson Land and CK Asset each going up by more than 3 percent.

But the rally fizzled after the office of Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po threw cold water on Ip's comments saying there was no plan to reduce property taxes.

Ip's comments left the market slightly dazed and confused.

Was something lost in translation?

Or is there more to it than meets the eye?

Ip later clarified that her comments were based on a proposal made by the New People's Party, which she chairs, and not in her capacity as convener of the Executive Council.

Nevertheless, it was a faux pas that should have been avoided.

Perhaps Ip was testing the waters to see how the market reacted. But if that were so, why would the government distance itself so quickly from her comments?

Or perhaps she was unfortunately misquoted.

Conspiracy theorists will say, without much ground, that Ip was acting in her own interest to further her ambitions and popularity among the city's residents and our neighbors across the border.

Stamp duties were introduced to cool down Hong Kong's overheating property market and their removal would obviously have an impact on the stock prices and the property market.

Hong Kong's property market has been headed south this year amid fears of a recession and higher mortgage rates and perhaps the government is looking at ways to prop up prices.

The more extreme among them may argue that Ip is currying favor with the developers who are deep-pocketed political donors and would stand to gain by the move.

An outspoken politician who has never been afraid to be critical of the government, Ip's star has risen over the course of her career. She holds the distinction of being the first woman convener of Exco, and the first with political affiliation since Hong Kong returned to China.

But, to coin a phrase, with great power comes great responsibility.

As the leader of a body of advisers that helps the chief executive in policy making, Ip should know she speaks on behalf of the government - and not her party.

And her comments that mainland buyers were "clamoring" for homes in Hong Kong are tone deaf, given that China is in the midst of a property crisis, with developers struggling to survive and buyers refusing to pay mortgages.

So even if Hong Kong had scrapped the duty for foreign buyers, would they still have the resources to invest in the city?

It could be much ado about nothing, but Ip should know that, while speech may be silver, silence can, indeed, be golden.