Hong Kong should roll out more consumption vouchers, relax eligibility for social welfare as pandemic drags on, IMF says

The International Monetary Fund has also called on the government to introduce fiscal policies to address the ageing population, high income inequality and insufficient housing

The IMF noted Hong Kong’s economy was experiencing a strong recovery, but warned it could prove uneven due to the city’s zero-Covid strategy

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The IMF has called on Hong Kong to offer more pandemic relief to vulnerable groups while also addressing structural challenges such as its ageing population. Photo: Winson Wong

Published: 4:00pm, 20 Jan 2022Updated: 8:14pm, 20 Jan 2022

Hong Kong should roll out a fresh round of consumption vouchers and relax the eligibility criteria for social welfare assistance as part of its targeted measures to help vulnerable residents and small businesses amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, according to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) annual assessment of the city.

The international organisation on Thursday also called on the government to introduce fiscal policies to address the structural challenges of its ageing population, high income inequality, and insufficient housing supply.

“In the near term, fiscal measures should be more targeted to support low-income households, unemployed workers, and affected SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises] … that would allow more effective identification and delivery of support to the most vulnerable,” the IMF said.

“For example, additional electronic consumption vouchers could be distributed to low-income households that meet the assistance criteria.”

The IMF also suggested temporarily relaxing the eligibility criteria for the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance scheme in order to provide more help to the unemployed.