Market rates set Hong Kong’s HK$150,000 subsidy for Tai Po fire victims: minister

Hong Kong authorities took market rates into account before setting a two-year annual subsidy of HK$150,000 (US$19,278) for flat owners displaced by the Tai Po fire, the city’s home affairs minister has said, amid calls for the government to monitor whether the new measure will further drive up rents in the area. Under the new measure, homeowners of the fire-damaged Wang Fuk Court will each receive the subsidy to rent homes in the private market, at a total cost of HK$1.2 billion. Both flat...