Embattled Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam has promised to prioritize housing and people's livelihoods to appease deep-rooted discontent about the way the Asian financial hub has been governed.

Lam, who has said she caused "unforgivable havoc" by igniting the political crisis and would quit if she had a choice, wrote in a Facebook post late Thursday that her government would increase the supply of housing, with more policies to be announced.

While the spark for the protests that have rocked Hong Kong was an extradition bill that Lam has said will be withdrawn, together with concern that Beijing is eroding civil liberties, many young protesters are also angry at sky-high living costs and a lack of job prospects.