Hong Kong budget 2024-25: treasury chief champions HK$600 billion bond issuance plan, vows safeguards to be put in place
- Government anticipates strategy will help achieve budget surplus for 2025-26 financial year, with authorities to issue silver, green and infrastructure bonds over next five years
- Treasury chief Christopher Hui stresses fiscal prudence vital and says authorities to propose HK$500 billion debt ceiling for green, infrastructure bond schemes
Hong Kong authorities’ plan to issue more than HK$600 billion (US$76 billion) in bonds over the next five years would not undermine the city’s fiscal prudence, the treasury minister said on Thursday.
The government has estimated that issuing the bonds will help achieve a budget surplus for the 2025-26 financial year, ending a spate of deficits logged over the last three years. It predicted the same outcome would be delayed to 2027-28 without the policy.
Hong Kong has recorded a deficit for every financial year since 2019-20, with the exception of 2021-22.
The shortfall is expected to balloon to HK$101.6 billion (US$12.9 billion) at the end of 2023-24, far higher than the previous estimate of HK$54 billion, amid a substantial reduction in land premiums and income from stamp duty.
Secretary for Financial Services and Treasury Christopher Hui Ching-yu, appearing at a post-budget press briefing, said: “Regarding fiscal discipline, please rest assured … we have proposed a HK$500 billion debt ceiling and that will be soon submitted to the legislature for approval … so there will be an institution arrangement and safeguard to ensure that what we do is subject to scrutiny.”
The treasury minister was referring to the borrowing ceiling for the government’s green and infrastructure bond programmes, which were outlined in the city’s new budget on Wednesday.