As the saying goes, “hoard grain to prevent hunger” in an emergency. According to a survey by the Hong Kong Deposit Protection Board, 68% of respondents said they are in the habit of saving, an increase of 5 points percentages on an annual basis -year. The “sense of security” score brought about by personal current savings fell slightly to 51.4 points, which is the lowest in five years. The average respondent believes that having savings of about 590,000 yuan can provide enough “sense of security”, and the amount is even higher than last year, increased by more than two percent.
For the fifth consecutive year, DPC conducted a survey of Hong Kong’s population “Sense of Security” indicator, interviewing 1,005 adults from August to September this year and conducting an in-depth opinion poll of 301 Hong Kong youth from 18 to 29. The results showed that 68% of respondents said they are in the habit of saving, an increase of 5 percentage points from last year. The average amount of monthly savings increased by 17% from last year to 7,700 yuan, mainly due to the impact of the government’s issuance of consumption coupons and the population’s reduction in travel and entertainment expenses of Hong Kong. Eighty-two percent of savings methods have deposited money in the bank, an increase of nearly ten percentage points from last year.
59% of people think the primary purpose of saving is to “meet unexpected needs”, a significant increase of 20 percentage points from last year, the highest since the five-year survey. The rest are preparing for retirement (23, 8%), take care of family members (18.2%) and order Live better in the future (14.9). A quarter of those in the habit of saving have set savings goals for the year, and the average target savings amount has been lowered to 170,000 yuan, which is lower than 208,000 yuan last year, but more than 70 % expressed distrust of reaching the target.
The “sense of security” score brought about by personal current savings fell slightly from 53.2 to 51.4, its lowest level in five years. Respondents believe on average that it is necessary to save about RMB 590,000 to obtain a sufficient “sense of security”, and the amount has also increased by more than 20% compared to last year. The data show that many citizens have a sense of the crisis and will carefully evaluate their personal financial situation, believing that in the current context it is necessary to increase their savings to feel at ease. Among the respondents who are used to saving, broken down by age group, those aged 18 to 29 think that having savings of around RMB 360,000 can give them a sufficient sense of “security”, the lowest amount among all the groups. Those between the ages of 50 and 59 got 760,000 yuan, the highest among all groups.
3.50% of Hong Kong youth save up for shopping
The survey also interviewed Hong Kong youth aged between 18 and 29. Only 67.6 percent of young people are in the habit of saving, and the average per capita savings amount per month is about 5,000 yuan, which is lower than the overall average. The purpose of saving is mainly to satisfy unexpected needs (48.4%), and the rest focus on specific short-term goals such as satisfying other shopping desires (24%), traveling (11.4%) and buying real estate (10.6%).
Liu Yanqing, chairman of the Hong Kong Deposit Protection Board, stressed that the new corona epidemic has a continuous impact on the economy and people’s livelihoods. The survey results reflect that in the face of economic uncertainties, the sense of crisis in the public and the sense of security they need continues to grow. Overall, saving is always an important source of “sense of security”.
Originally released on AM730 https://www.am730.com.hk/Local/68-Hong Kong has a habit of saving-Having 590,000 to feel safe-/353827?utm_source=yahoorss&utm_medium=referral
