Balancing the books 'may take 3 years'

It may take three years or more to return to a balanced Budget, the Financial Secretary said yesterday. But Antony Leung Kam-chung, confirming that the deficit problem appeared to be structural - where government revenue fails to keep up with public spending - gave no hint of whether he would raise taxes in his first Budget on March 6. He said the Government was confident of putting public finances back on a healthy footing with careful management.

Mr Leung has revised the deficit for the financial year to $60 billion, from an earlier estimate of $3 billion.