Crowded shopping malls, jam-packed restaurants, congested roads – they are signs of the pandemic gradually stabilising. While city life is gradually returning, the economy, battered by Covid-19, has barely picked up again. The road to full recovery still hinges on the resumption of travel to the mainland and overseas.

The consumption data released by the government shows the real picture. Retail sales may have risen by 2.9 per cent year on year in July, but that was the lowest increase in six months. Compared with the June figure, sales even slipped by 3.2 per cent, and were still 30 per cent down on the same period in 2018, according to the Hong Kong Retail Management Association.

The lower than expected performance, analysts believe, may be partly down to delayed spending ahead of the launch of the government’s HK$36 billion electronic consumption voucher scheme.

With the first batch of HK$2,000 vouchers already distributed in August and earlier this month, officials expect the stimulus to benefit retail and other sectors. Depending on the payment tools, more than 6 million people will receive the remaining HK$3,000 in the coming months.

E-voucher scheme can boost Hong Kong economy by as much as 6 per cent

But the scheme may only have a short-term effect on the economy. This is, after all, an extraordinary measure in extraordinary times. Having dished out cash allowances for all on a few occasions, the government has nurtured public expectations for regular handouts.