He said the ban would stay in place until the administration knew clearly what impact such births would have on the territory's social services.

Mr Leung also said he would not guarantee that babies born here to mainland mothers would be granted permanent residency in the future.

A sharp increase in the number of mainland women coming to the SAR to give birth in recent years has put pressure on both public and private hospital services.

There have been complaints that the quality of medical care has been affected.

Earlier it emerged that sources had said the current government wanted private hospitals to reduce the quota of mainland mothers giving birth from 30,000 to 20,000, so more places could be reserved for local women.

The government is said to have discussed the issue at a meeting with representatives of private hospitals last week.