Macau, China, 4 April – The government of Macau as of Wednesday suspended the granting of resident status in the territory through investment in real estate, the head of the government, Edmund Ho said in the Legislative Assembly Tuesday.

Ho explained that the possibility would be “suspended” and later reviewed taking into consideration Macau’s new reality.

The head of the Administrative Region of Macau also said that around 4,000 current requests would, however, be dealt with.

Ho also said that the process of concession of land in Macau could be carried out by public auction when the land is for housing, but warned that real estate prices would increase.

“On launching a public tender, large foreign companies, which have greater economic leverage, can easily present a proposal and win, but this leads to price increases,” he said.

Also in reference to housing, Ho said that real estate prices were rising and within five years the Government would build 10,000 cheap or social housing units, in order to deal with the difficulties felt by the population in buying their own home. (macauhub)