A former top economic planner suggested Monday that the government should direct idle capital into 'substantive' investments or real estate outside Taipei to keep 'hot money' out of the property market and curb soaring housing prices. High housing prices have been listed as one of top 10 sources of complaints among citizens of Taipei City, and former Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) Chairman Hu Sheng-cheng said that to address the problem, the government should prevent the illegal inflow of capital into the property market. At a forum on the economic outlook for Taiwan and other major countries in the second half of 2010, Hu said Taiwan is facing a sharp rise in the cross-border inflow of hot money, mainly from foreign investors and overseas Taiwanese businessmen. The 'hot money' -- foreign capital entering the country in search of short-term profits -- usually first makes its way into the stock market, Hu said, and then after profit-taking is reinvested in the real estate market. He said that a rise in housing prices is only being seen in certain parts of Taipei City, such as the Xinyi and Daan districts, and that housing bubbles have occurred in some parts of the city in the first quarter of this year. Because the housing bubbles are occurring in only some parts of the country, the government cannot use monetary measures to rein in the property market, Hu added. Instead, it should take steps to improve the environment and public transport infrastructure in regions outside Taipei City so as to create demand for housing there and help direct excess liquidity into substantive investments. 