Hong Kong - Hong Kong leader Donald Tsang's approval ratings are below 50 per cent in the wake of accusations of favouritism toward his family members, a survey found Wednesday.

The leader who once commanded approval ratings of more than 80 per cent scored an approval rating of 49.7 per cent in the latest poll, a monthly survey conducted by the University of Hong Kong found.

His popularity score was 1.3 percentage points higher than his score in October but was still the second-lowest approval rating given to him since he took office in 2005.

The survey followed accusations of favouritism by the Beijing-appointed chief executive toward members of his family, which Tsang dismissed as a "groundless smear campaign" against him.

Tsang has been criticized after his sister-in-law apparently received compensation for losses from Lehman Brothers mini-bonds, which were bought widely in Hong Kong, ahead of most other affected investors.

He was also criticized over claims that his son's father-in-law, a lighting supplier, would benefit from a voucher scheme proposed by Tsang to encourage Hong Kong people to use low-energy light bulbs.

Tsang angrily dismissed the criticisms, saying he had no prior knowledge of the compensation given to his sister-in-law and that the light bulb scheme would benefit a variety of suppliers.

Appointed by Beijing in 2005, Tsang replaced former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa, who was forced out of office after eight years by his unpopularity.

Tung had an approval rating of 35 per cent and was the target of an anti-government march involving more than 500,000 people before he was forced out of office.

Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule in 1997 after a century and a half as a British colony and has limited democracy. The chief executive is chosen by a largely pro-Beijing election committee. (dpa)