Hong Kong finance chief issues budget warning, says unemployment could rise if Covid-19 fourth wave not under control

Name: Departures for mainland China increase amid Hong Kong’s fourth wave of Covid-19 infections
Uploaded: 2020-12-20T07:28:28.000Z
Duration: 3 min 38 s
Description: Departures for mainland China increase amid Hong Kong’s fourth wave of Covid-19 infections

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Hong Kong finance minister Paul Chan dressed up as a chef for a video promoting the consultation period for the next budget. Photo: Facebook

Jeffie Lam

Published: 3:28pm, 20 Dec 2020Updated: 11:09pm, 20 Dec 2020

Hong Kong’s next budget would be in the red again following its highest deficit on record this year amid the coronavirus pandemic, the city’s financial chief warned on Sunday.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also said the city’s unemployment rate – which marginally declined to 6.3 per cent last month – could rise again in the coming months if the raging fourth wave of Covid-19 infections was not promptly contained.

The fresh warnings from Chan about the dire financial situation came on the same day the government officially launched the public consultation exercise for the annual budget, which will be delivered on February 24.

“The government this year has faced an unprecedented budget deficit of HK$300 billion (US$38.7 billion) and it is estimated that the budget next year would inevitably be in the red,” Chan wrote in his weekly blog on Sunday. “It is a huge challenge.”

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Departures for mainland China increase amid Hong Kong’s fourth wave of Covid-19 infections

Chan also dressed up as a chef in a promotional video as he urged members of the public to take part in the consultation. “How can I cook to your taste when I don’t know what’s on your mind?” he said.