When the International Monetary Fund finally takes notice, it must be old news. Yesterday the IMF issued its annual report on Hong Kong, saying that it shared the government's “concerns that a credit-asset price cycle could take hold, leading to a sharp run-up in prices for certain real and financial assets”.

The release of the IMF report came just three weeks after Henderson Land, a large Hong Kong developer, announced it had sold a penthouse on the 68th floor of a 40-storey building for HK$71,280 ($9,200) – a marketing gimmick made possible by omitting dozens of floor numbers. The October 14 sale coincided with remarks by the territory's chief executive warning of an incipient “property bubble”.

But in Hong Kong, no bubble is complete until it has inspired a spin-off or two. Swire Pacific provided just that ingredient, confirming this week that it was considering a separate listing for its real estate arm. In Hong Kong, Swire Properties is the well-regarded brand behind 10.4m sq ft of office space and more than 2.8m sq ft of retail malls, with a hotel and residential portfolio tacked on for good measure. For Swire Pacific it would be the right IPO in the right place at the right time. Swire Pacific's spin-off plans have yet to be finalised. But with Hong Kong interest rates tracking their low US counterparts by virtue of the territory's currency peg to the greenback, the company probably has time on its side. This bubble still has room to grow.