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May 27th, 2008:

Investment Carries Risks

Updated on May 27, 2008 – SCMP

Richard Wright, who says new height restrictions on buildings in Mid-Levels are unfair, must either be ignorant of the harmful effects of air pollution or is one of those investors who cares not one iota about how he makes money (“Building height rules are unfair and will discourage investment”, May 26).

If Mr Wright bought his flat to live in then he must have his head in the sand not to have read, over the past few years, how the “tunnel and wall” effects of high-rise buildings exacerbate air pollution. Central and Mid-Levels are now two of the most dangerously polluted places in Hong Kong to live, and if the city adopted and followed modern air-pollution indicators, he would learn that these are areas not even fit for human habitation.

If, on the other hand, his purchase of a flat was solely for investment and hopefully capital appreciation, then he must appreciate that no investment is without risk.

He cannot be unaware that public sentiment has changed over the past few years about unrestricted building of skyscrapers by property developers. If he missed this changing sentiment and did not adjust his investment strategy accordingly, he should have stuck to keeping his money in a bank savings account.

P. A. Crush, Sha Tin