Hong Kong’s economic performance continues to be weak. Finance Secretary Paul Chan said yesterday that he maintains his forecast of an annual economic contraction of 3.2% and estimates that there will be a deficit of up to 100 billion yuan in this fiscal year He reiterated that the government must be prudent in financial management and live within its means. He also said that he is open to opinions on the redistribution of consumer vouchers and hopes that as the epidemic is stabilized and controlled and the mainland economy continues to recover, Hong Kong’s economy is expected to improve gradually next year. .
Chen Maobo told the Financial Affairs Committee of the Legislative Council that Hong Kong’s economy has performed weakly this year due to the fifth wave of the local epidemic and the sharp deterioration of the external environment. The combined economic contraction in the first three quarters of this year was 3.3% year over year. Considering the economic data in the first three quarters and the lackluster near-term outlook, the economy is projected to contract by 3, 2% this year. He went on to say that there will be a deficit of up to 100 billion yuan in this fiscal year, which is much higher than the 56.3 billion yuan estimated in the budget, and the fiscal reserve will further fall to the level of 800 billion yuan. , which is equivalent to about 11 months of public spending.
Chen Maobo also said that the continued recovery of the mainland economy will offset some of the negative impacts. For example, the cycle of raising interest rates in advanced economies is broadly in line with market expectations, i.e. it will end in the middle of next year and the external economic situation could stabilize in the second half of the year. If the external environment is not worse than expected and the local epidemic is stable and under control, he expects the economy to gradually regain momentum next year.
The new budget will be announced on February 22nd
Some committee members are concerned whether the Hong Kong government will introduce a new round of consumer vouchers or electricity subsidies. Chen Maobo said that some studies have pointed out that consumer vouchers are quite effective in boosting the economy, but the plan involves a lot of public money and will pay close attention to market conditions before considering it, and also said that it is open to different opinions.
As for some advisers urging the government to revive the “Employment Support” scheme, he pointed out that the current unemployment rate is relatively low, and many industries reported that it is difficult to hire people, so it may not be suitable for reintroduction the current state. He also revealed that the new budget will be published on February 22 next year and further opinions will be heard during the consultation period.
Originally released on AM730 https://www.am730.com.hk/Local/Hong Kong is expected to post a deficit of 100 billion this year: the redistribution of consumer vouchers is open/351332?utm_source=yahoorss&utm_medium=referral
