The Housing Authority's overall consolidated result is expected to register a $220 million deficit in 2008-09 due to change in the financial market.

Speaking after the committee's meeting today the authority's Finance Committee Chairman Wong Yuen-fai said the body has been able to mitigate risks largely due to its conservative and diversified investment strategy.

Assuming the financial market will stabilise, it is forecast the authority's overall consolidated result will return to surplus status in the coming years.

Notwithstanding the economic slowdown, the authority will maintain the average waiting time for public rental housing applicants at three years, Mr Wong said.

"To meet this target, in the five years between 2008-09 and 2012-13, the authority plans to incur construction expenditure of $8.6 billion per year on average to produce adequate public rental housing flats, representing an annual production of about 15,000 flats on average," he said.

With a projected funds balance of $46.7 billion in 2013, the authority will have sufficient financial resources to implement its public housing programme in the forecast period.

The committee today endorsed the 2008-09 revised budget, the 2009-10 proposed budget and noted the financial forecasts for 2010-11 to 2012-13. The budget will be submitted to the authority on January 22 for approval.