Hong Kong budget 2024-25: finance chief set to remove some cooling measures to revive ailing property market

Insiders hint ‘only some measures might be lifted’ while analysts say home prices will not soar much even if all the cooling measures removed.

Another top item on minister’s agenda will be to attract more visitors by allocating HK$971 million to Tourism Board over coming three financial years

3-MIN READ3-MIN

To aid Hong Kong’s troubled property market, some cooling measures are to be removed. But analysts are sceptical that home prices will soar as a result. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 4:20pm, 27 Feb 2024Updated: 11:49pm, 27 Feb 2024

Hong Kong’s finance chief Paul Chan Mo-po is set to remove some cooling measures to revive the city’s ailing property market when he unveils on Wednesday a budget seen as his most challenging spending blueprint yet amid economic uncertainty and a record deficit.

Another big ticket item on his agenda will be to redouble efforts to attract more visitors by allocating HK$971 million (US$124 million) to the Tourism Board over the coming three financial years.

The largest chunk of that figure, some HK$665 million, will be disbursed this year to the sector, which made up 4.5 per cent of the city’s gross domestic product before the pandemic.

Over the three-year period, HK$304 million will be reserved for mega events, while another HK$389 million will go towards enriching the city’s ambience with a redesign of the multimedia show “A Symphony of Light” that currently takes place nightly along the city’s harbourfront.

A drone show at Wan Chai promenade last year. Tourism scholar Dennis Wong says such performances alone will not lure visitors, but can add to certain attractions. Photo: Yik Yeung-man

Ahead of the revamp, a source said there would be drone shows and fireworks every month to jazz up the show. The fireworks will cost HK$1 million each time.