Advertisement

Budget 2022-2023: Hong Kong’s rents deferment plan for certain SMEs only a short-term solution, industry observers say

  • The government should clarify whether rents could be paid in instalments after the deferral period, if business continued to be bad, industry body executive says
  • HSBC and Hang Seng Bank vow to help sector in response to budget speech

Reading Time:3 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
7
A closed restaurant in Hong Kong’s Sai Kung district. Dine-in service is banned from 6pm under the city’s tightened Covid-19 measures. Photo: Dickson Lee

Hong Kong’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on Wednesday said the government’s plan allowing them to defer rent payments for up to six months might provide short-term relief, but resolution of the difficulties they face depended very much on the fifth Covid-19 wave being brought under control.

Advertisement
SMEs in certain sectors will be allowed to defer their rent payments by up to six months, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in his budget briefing earlier on Wednesday. The government will introduce legislation to effect the new measures, which will be valid for three months and, if necessary, be extended once more for the same duration, he said. The legislation will lapse automatically after six months.

“Of course, we hope the measure are introduced as they will help relieve the immediate pressure,” said Gordon Lam, convenor of the Hong Kong Small and Middle Restaurant Federation.

But he urged the government to clarify whether rents could be paid in instalments after the deferral period, if business continued to be bad. He also asked how the city would handle any subsequent waves of Covid-19.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po delivers the 2022-23 budget. Photo: Handout
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po delivers the 2022-23 budget. Photo: Handout

Hong Kong imposed its toughest social-distancing rules to date in February. Many food and drink (F&B) outlets have been hit badly by a blanket ban on dining after 6pm, and a cap of two people on public gatherings. The city has 343,699 SMEs, including 18,050 property companies. SMEs employed 1.21 million people as of March 2021, according to the latest Census and Statistics Department data.

Advertisement
Advertisement