Billionaire Lee Shau-kee said he has sold as much as 30% of his Hong Kong stock investments and is buying land, betting that the government’s efforts to cool home prices won’t work.

Lee, chairman and controlling shareholder of Henderson Land Development Co., has put HK$20bn ($2.6bn) of proceeds from the sale of shares into real estate, he said at a press conference in Hong Kong yesterday.

Hong Kong’s third-richest man is increasing his holdings as the government tries to rein in a 28% surge in home values that’s sparked tensions with the city’s developers. The government has raised down payments for luxury apartments and threatened to intervene if the market becomes 'unhealthy.'

bloomberg.com