https://www.scmp.com/rss/514795/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The budget that Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po presents to the Legislative Council this week will be the toughest of his career. In his last budget speech, Chan had forecast a cash shortfall in the current financial year of HK$54.4 billion (US$6.96 billion) after taking into account bond sales of HK$65 billion. In recent months, Chan has indicated the shortfall could exceed HK$100 billion. Major accounting firms have issued similar figures. As at December 31, 2023, the city had a deficit of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3252950/why-its-time-hong-kong-go-way-singapore-gst?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3252950/why-its-time-hong-kong-go-way-singapore-gst?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 25 Feb 2024 08:30:14 +0000 When something that is not happening gets people excited you know it has to be too controversial to contemplate. The spectre of a capital gains tax on assets in Hong Kong can be relied upon to do that if it is not unequivocally and quickly ruled out. A case in point arose in a Post interview with Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, in which he clarified the tax issue from Davos in Switzerland, where he is among finance officials, bankers, businesspeople and economists at the World Economic... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3248952/fast-action-ruling-out-capital-gains-tax-reassuring-city?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3248952/fast-action-ruling-out-capital-gains-tax-reassuring-city?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Jan 2024 22:15:09 +0000 The story goes that the king of Siam would punish those who displeased him by giving them a white elephant, dooming them to the expensive upkeep of the sacred animal. Nowadays, the white elephant is a metaphor for a big, money-draining project, often an eyesore and a reminder of the time and resources wasted. White elephants happen when projects are poorly conceived without much cost-benefit analysis or poorly designed without satisfying basic functional needs, or both. It is not uncommon for... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3248270/belt-tightening-hong-kong-needs-learn-avoid-white-elephant-projects?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3248270/belt-tightening-hong-kong-needs-learn-avoid-white-elephant-projects?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Jan 2024 01:30:13 +0000 Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification. Hong Kong’s fiscal strategy, long underpinned by robust land sales and low tax rates, is showing signs of vulnerability. The spate of failed land tenders in the current financial year brings into... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3248232/hong-kong-mustnt-wait-diversify-revenue?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3248232/hong-kong-mustnt-wait-diversify-revenue?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Jan 2024 03:30:15 +0000 Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification. I do not see eye to eye with your correspondent about the proposal, “Why not move loss-making Hong Kong Disneyland to mainland China’s Sanya?” (December 19). We should not lose sight of the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3247428/hong-kong-disneyland-hasnt-lost-its-magic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3247428/hong-kong-disneyland-hasnt-lost-its-magic?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 08 Jan 2024 03:30:11 +0000 Hong Kong may take “a year or two” longer than expected to return to a budget surplus, according to the finance chief, who attributed the delay to a sluggish city economy and reduced land sales limiting government income. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Saturday also said public coffers would be drained of more than HK$110 billion (US$14.1 billion) in the current financial year and offered assurances that efforts to secure new land would continue despite developers’ lack of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3247513/hong-kong-may-take-year-or-two-extra-return-budget-surplus-amid-sluggish-economy-reduced-land-sales?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3247513/hong-kong-may-take-year-or-two-extra-return-budget-surplus-amid-sluggish-economy-reduced-land-sales?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Jan 2024 07:31:19 +0000 In the wings of Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s doggedly upbeat policy address on October 25, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po is talking more cautiously about Hong Kong’s economy “gradually recovering”. Hong Kong’s third-quarter gross domestic product growth was up 4.1 per cent year on year. In his budget speech in February, Chan had forecast GDP growth of 3.5-5.5 per cent for the year, but in August, the expected growth rate was revised to between 4 and 5 per cent. We will have to wait... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3240390/true-picture-hong-kongs-economic-challenges-look-beyond-brave-headline-numbers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3240390/true-picture-hong-kongs-economic-challenges-look-beyond-brave-headline-numbers?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Nov 2023 12:30:21 +0000 Hongkongers have been warned by Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po to expect a much bigger budget deficit for the current financial year than previously forecast. Following comments he made last month, newspaper reports said the shortfall “could be nearly twice that of earlier estimates and exceed HK$100 billion”. In fact, the underlying situation is even more challenging than reported and I would not be surprised by a real deficit closer to HK$200 billion (US$25.6 billion). The final deficit... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3240092/hong-kong-deserves-hard-truth-about-its-finances?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3240092/hong-kong-deserves-hard-truth-about-its-finances?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Nov 2023 07:30:10 +0000 Hong Kong residents will receive the second instalment of this year’s consumption vouchers on July 16, the finance minister has said, while again stressing that the scheme, which aims to give the economy a HK$13 billion (US$1.6 billion) spending boost, will not be a regular event. But Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Monday also stopped short of saying the coming handout would be the last in a scheme first launched in 2021 as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the economy, merely stressing... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3222173/hong-kong-consumption-vouchers-city-launch-round-2-years-scheme-july-16?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3222173/hong-kong-consumption-vouchers-city-launch-round-2-years-scheme-july-16?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 29 May 2023 08:00:53 +0000 Hong Kong’s long-running system of subsidising public transport fares for senior citizens has had many twists and turns over the years. But fiscal reality seems about to kick in and oblige the authorities to come up with reforms. The outcome is likely to be much less generous but more sustainable. And changes could be imminent, judging from the recent critical comments from members of the Legislative Council. It began around 20 years ago as a marketing strategy by some public transport operators... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3221061/ageing-hong-kong-cant-afford-skys-limit-transport-fare-subsidy-elderly?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3221061/ageing-hong-kong-cant-afford-skys-limit-transport-fare-subsidy-elderly?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 21 May 2023 08:30:16 +0000 Hong Kong is poised to enter the next phase of developing its digital economy, the city’s leader has said, pledging to prioritise business and investment opportunities as part of efforts to pursue high-quality growth. Appearing at the Digital Economy Summit on Thursday, Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said the two-day conference marked the first in-person mega event organised by authorities for the innovation and technology (I&T) sector since the Covid-19 pandemic began in early 2020. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3216907/next-phase-developing-hong-kongs-digital-economy-begins-now-citys-john-lee-says-tech-mega-event?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3216907/next-phase-developing-hong-kongs-digital-economy-begins-now-citys-john-lee-says-tech-mega-event?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 13 Apr 2023 06:55:33 +0000 Public attention on Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po’s budget for 2023-24 has been riveted on the issue of consumption vouchers. Pundits have overlooked a watershed development, first announced in Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu’s policy address delivered last October, and given full financial support in Chan’s budget, to put into effect what will be Hong Kong’s first-ever industrial policy. As long-standing industrial policy agnostics, the Hong Kong authorities have never adopted an... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3213764/laissez-faire-no-more-hong-kongs-aggressive-tech-hub-plans-come-not-moment-too-soon?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3213764/laissez-faire-no-more-hong-kongs-aggressive-tech-hub-plans-come-not-moment-too-soon?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 19 Mar 2023 00:15:10 +0000 Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification. In his latest budget, the financial secretary revealed a plan to issue infrastructure bonds. The government’s plan to raise debt has raised a few eyebrows, with critics questioning whether... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3213312/infrastructure-bonds-offer-path-investing-hong-kongs-future?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3213312/infrastructure-bonds-offer-path-investing-hong-kongs-future?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Mar 2023 03:30:18 +0000 Green technology shows signs of growing into a strong option for the city to economically recreate itself again, this time as an international hub for a sector many hope will have a profound impact on the planet’s future. It is encouraging to see the government outline steps towards building a green-tech “ecosystem”. In his February 22 budget, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po unveiled five proposals to foster innovation and facilitate fundraising for projects with environmental benefits. He... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3213281/path-realising-green-tech-dreams?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3213281/path-realising-green-tech-dreams?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Mar 2023 15:32:47 +0000 Hong Kong’s latest round of spending sweeteners will be dished out to residents from July 16 under a HK$13 billion (US$1.7 billion) bid to boost the economy in a post-Covid era. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po has stressed it would be “difficult” to make the e-voucher scheme, first rolled out in 2021, a regular event, saying it was only meant for extraordinary times such as the pandemic and its aftermath. The Post outlines all you need to know about obtaining the latest round of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3213218/all-you-need-know-about-hong-kongs-2023-round-consumption-vouchers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3213218/all-you-need-know-about-hong-kongs-2023-round-consumption-vouchers?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 12 Mar 2023 01:00:19 +0000 Computing power has become a core driver of the development of the digital economy. The white paper on China’s computing power development index released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology in November last year estimates that every yuan invested in computing power would increase economic output by three to four yuan. Moreover, computing power has a significant correlation with gross domestic product. Of the top 20 countries by computing power in 2021, 17 are among... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3212793/hong-kongs-supercomputing-centre-plans-must-be-strategic-succeed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3212793/hong-kongs-supercomputing-centre-plans-must-be-strategic-succeed?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Mar 2023 22:15:09 +0000 In his latest budget, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po announced a “Happy Hong Kong” campaign aimed at local residents, which will offer the public “gourmet experiences, fun amusements and exciting ambience” after three years of strict anti-pandemic measures. With the end of the mask mandate, Hong Kong has finally largely returned to normal as many countries have done in the past year. Chan’s budget is an attempt to raise people’s spirits, but the resulting good cheer may only be an illusion.... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3212072/happy-hong-kong-look-wonton-soup-soul-and-small-businesses?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3212072/happy-hong-kong-look-wonton-soup-soul-and-small-businesses?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 04 Mar 2023 22:15:09 +0000 The Hong Kong Jockey Club has pledged not to sack any of its employees despite a government plan to impose a HK$12 billion (US$1.53 billion) special football betting duty on the organisation over the next five years. The city’s sole gambling operator also vowed on Thursday night to continue donating no less than HK$4.5 billion annually over the next five years, echoing its past commitments in recent years, according to a companywide email seen by the Post. The club made the promises following... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3212254/hong-kong-jockey-club-vows-not-sack-any-employees-despite-forking-out-hk12-billion-over-next-5-years?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3212254/hong-kong-jockey-club-vows-not-sack-any-employees-despite-forking-out-hk12-billion-over-next-5-years?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Mar 2023 08:45:56 +0000 The 2023-24 budget has the potential to advance Hong Kong’s interests if its many plans and projects can be carried out with a collaborative, future-forward mindset. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po is right to concentrate on meeting the city’s development needs, considering people’s hardships after three years of pandemic pressure, and also in the face of intense competition from other economies and gusty geopolitical winds. One source of competition is Chinese mainland cities. Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3211861/what-hong-kong-needs-exciting-budget-ideas-take?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3211861/what-hong-kong-needs-exciting-budget-ideas-take?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Mar 2023 07:45:11 +0000 Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po has unveiled a budget which, alongside a raft of measures to maintain assistance to Hong Kong’s vulnerable and smaller businesses, is part of an ambitious but clear-sighted plan to position the city at the forefront of the world’s most dynamic and exciting prospects for growth. Chan’s budget played to Hong Kong’s unique strengths, especially when it comes to financial services. He outlined plans to take advantage of the mainland’s continuing opening up by... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3211757/hong-kongs-budget-lays-groundwork-citys-economic-renaissance-now-businesses-must-play-their-part?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3211757/hong-kongs-budget-lays-groundwork-citys-economic-renaissance-now-businesses-must-play-their-part?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Feb 2023 05:30:11 +0000 Plastic waste is a unique problem for Hong Kong. It is not about the low recycling rate which, at just 14 per cent, is better than the 9 per cent world average but still far below what we need. It is not the finite capacity of landfills, or the plastic particles we consume in our air, water and seafood. The problem is that Hong Kong’s plastic waste is kept out of sight and out of mind. Waste management is so effective we hardly think about it. This is not to say that used plastic is collected,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3211461/how-plastic-can-be-fantastic-hong-kongs-innovation-and-technology-hub-ambitions?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3211461/how-plastic-can-be-fantastic-hong-kongs-innovation-and-technology-hub-ambitions?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Feb 2023 00:15:12 +0000 Hong Kong will constantly benchmark itself against London and New York in its aim to remain as a top international financial centre with Western countries having a substantial stake in it, the city’s financial chief has said. Speaking at a South China Morning Post conference on Monday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also further explained the new capital immigration scheme he introduced in his budget last week, saying it was aimed at enticing some of the world’s wealthiest 5 per cent to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211680/revitalised-hong-kong-investor-immigration-scheme-unlike-singapore-policy-aims-entice-worlds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211680/revitalised-hong-kong-investor-immigration-scheme-unlike-singapore-policy-aims-entice-worlds?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Feb 2023 08:41:13 +0000 The most important sentence in Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po’s budget speech this year appears in paragraph 134: “Talents are the most important resources for growth.” Clearly this was a reminder rather than fresh insight, the same point having been made by Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu in his policy address last autumn. The annual budget speech is one of the two occasions each year when the government sets out its thinking on economic and social development. It has two main tasks: to... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3211402/hong-kong-budget-best-remedy-citys-ailing-economy-talent?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/hong-kong/article/3211402/hong-kong-budget-best-remedy-citys-ailing-economy-talent?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Feb 2023 00:15:09 +0000 The budget Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po delivered last week might have been the most challenging one for him yet. Chan became financial secretary when the city had huge reserves, which afforded him the leeway to pay for crowd-pleasing measures, such as the consumption vouchers that came to save the day during the Covid-19 pandemic’s darkest days. By harping on our finite resources and budget deficits, Chan has in the past done reasonably well to manage people’s expectations. But the... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3211404/fewer-budget-handouts-are-blessing-disguise-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3211404/fewer-budget-handouts-are-blessing-disguise-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Feb 2023 06:30:07 +0000 Hong Kong should aim to develop breakthroughs in semiconductor materials and chip packaging technology by attracting talent and enterprises if it wants to be a regional leader in microelectronics, experts have said. But the process would not be easy, they warned, noting the city would need to commit to investing a significant amount of money for many years and overcome the hurdles of securing Western chip equipment given the United States’ curbs on China’s acquisition of the technology. In his... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211580/experts-lay-out-steps-hong-kong-can-take-leap-ahead-global-chip-race?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211580/experts-lay-out-steps-hong-kong-can-take-leap-ahead-global-chip-race?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 26 Feb 2023 06:00:33 +0000 Hong Kong expects to collect HK$1.27 billion (US$161.8 million) in illegal parking fines in the coming financial year, according to the latest budget, translating into law enforcement issuing about 10,800 tickets every day. Figures released in Wednesday’s spending blueprint also revealed the government collected HK$750 million for breaches of Covid-19 rules and other financial regulations in 2022-23, but the amount was expected to drop by 40 per cent in the coming financial year given the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211500/illegal-parking-hong-kong-fine-way-make-hk127-billion-12-months-authorities-expect-mega-haul-year?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211500/illegal-parking-hong-kong-fine-way-make-hk127-billion-12-months-authorities-expect-mega-haul-year?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 25 Feb 2023 00:00:16 +0000 There was a time when the government’s annual budget often ended in a larger than forecast surplus. This enabled the city to embark on major development projects, dish out generous tax sweeteners and pump up enviable fiscal reserves year after year. But the wheel of fortune has turned in recent years, with bigger than expected deficits eating into the public coffers. This is partly the result of Covid-relief spending and shrinking revenues amid a prolonged pandemic. But concerns have been raised... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3211508/hong-kong-budget-deficits-call-wider-tax-review?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3211508/hong-kong-budget-deficits-call-wider-tax-review?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Feb 2023 23:30:09 +0000 If there is a single striking feature of Finance Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po’s budget released this week, it is not hand-wringing over the merits of consumption vouchers, whether stamp duty changes will make it easier to buy a house or even whether the budget will create a “Happy Hong Kong”. Rather, it is the extraordinary simplicity of the challenges our economy faces and our good fortune in being unburdened by almost any of the extraordinary budgetary challenges facing so many economies... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3211368/happy-hong-kong-budget-shows-city-spared-many-worlds-most-pressing-problems?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3211368/happy-hong-kong-budget-shows-city-spared-many-worlds-most-pressing-problems?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Feb 2023 07:45:11 +0000 Hong Kong’s finance minister has raised high hopes of scrapping the city’s mask mandate, saying it could be lifted “at the end of the season” as the government has heard residents’ mounting calls for the last major Covid-19 restriction to be axed as soon as possible. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po was on Friday addressing his latest budget blueprint on government radio, but most callers were fixated on the mask measure. The city has extended the mandate for another two weeks until March... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3211334/no-more-masks-april-hong-kong-finance-chief-raises-hopes-saying-city-will-drop-unpopular-covid-rule?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3211334/no-more-masks-april-hong-kong-finance-chief-raises-hopes-saying-city-will-drop-unpopular-covid-rule?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Feb 2023 02:12:01 +0000 Raising the tobacco tax is an effective way to get smokers to quit, an expert has said, noting that when Hong Kong increased the levy by 300 per cent in the 1980s the smoking rate dropped significantly. But a concern group on Thursday argued quitting was a personal choice and raising the cigarette tax would only push hardcore smokers to buy illegal packs. In his budget address on Wednesday, finance minister Paul Chan Mo-po tacked on an extra HK$12 (US$1.5) to the price of a pack of 20... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3211292/will-raising-tobacco-tax-cut-hong-kongs-smoking-rate-or-simply-boost-illegal-cigarette-sales?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3211292/will-raising-tobacco-tax-cut-hong-kongs-smoking-rate-or-simply-boost-illegal-cigarette-sales?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Feb 2023 00:00:22 +0000 The government’s move to cut ad valorem stamp duty is stimulating the city’s residential property market, with a number of transactions taking place on the same day that Financial Secretary Paul Chan announced the measure to help first-time homeowners, according to property agents. Following the announcement, Shatin Plaza estate in Shatin-Tai Wai district recorded its first home sale this month, with a three-bedroom flat sold for HK$10.38 million (US$1.32 million) on Wednesday night, according... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3211295/hong-kongs-tax-cuts-buyers-cheaper-homes-has-boosted-sentiment-and-sales-say-property-agents?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3211295/hong-kongs-tax-cuts-buyers-cheaper-homes-has-boosted-sentiment-and-sales-say-property-agents?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Feb 2023 23:30:16 +0000 Hong Kong authorities expect more than 9,000 flats to be built on 12 residential sites set to be offered in the coming financial year under the government’s land sale programme announced on Thursday, including a plot for subsidised homes for first-time buyers and another to incorporate a youth hostel. Development officials on Thursday also said three prime commercial sites would be offered for sale in the coming financial year to provide 200,000 square metres of gross floor area. They are at Kai... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211311/12-residential-sites-be-offered-under-hong-kong-land-sale-programme-2023-24-expected-provide-9000?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211311/12-residential-sites-be-offered-under-hong-kong-land-sale-programme-2023-24-expected-provide-9000?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Feb 2023 15:20:18 +0000 Hong Kong will need more than tax incentives to tackle its low birth rate crisis, even if the government is willing to offer more than it pledged in its budget blueprint, experts in population studies have said. The question over how to tackle one of the biggest challenges facing most advanced economies gained fresh urgency in Hong Kong after Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po announced in his budget on Wednesday he would raise the child allowance by HK$10,000 (US$1,275) to HK$130,000. From... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211307/budget-2023-24-tax-incentives-not-enough-reverse-hong-kongs-declining-birth-rate?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211307/budget-2023-24-tax-incentives-not-enough-reverse-hong-kongs-declining-birth-rate?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Feb 2023 14:37:17 +0000 Hong Kong authorities should lower the threshold of a revamped investment scheme that allows overseas individuals to gain residency in the city, an economist has said, adding a reasonable capital requirement will make the programme more attractive and effective. The Capital Investment Entrant Scheme would exclude property deals and mainland Chinese residents, according to Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, who announced the initiative in his annual budget blueprint on Wednesday. During a... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211305/hk10-million-price-tag-revamped-hong-kong-residency-scheme-will-scare-applicants-away-economist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211305/hk10-million-price-tag-revamped-hong-kong-residency-scheme-will-scare-applicants-away-economist?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Feb 2023 13:45:52 +0000 The Hong Kong Jockey Club can afford a multibillion-dollar betting duty the government wants to impose given its enormous reserves, politicians and analysts have said, while anticipating its “special and cordial relationship” with authorities will not be shaken. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, meanwhile, pledged on Thursday to work with the city’s sole gambling operator to ensure it maintained its charity commitments after he proposed imposing a HK$12 billion (US$1.53 billion) special... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211303/can-hong-kong-jockey-club-afford-rise-betting-duty-politicians-analysts-point-large-reserves-doubt?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211303/can-hong-kong-jockey-club-afford-rise-betting-duty-politicians-analysts-point-large-reserves-doubt?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Feb 2023 13:37:39 +0000 Hong Kong’s finance chief on Thursday brushed aside suggestions his new plan to issue infrastructure bonds would undermine the city’s fiscal discipline, arguing the scheme would accelerate the construction of better transport links and enable more efficient use of existing land resources. Calling the bond issuance plan a way to “leverage market capital”, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also maintained the city was fiscally healthy and said any discussion of widening the tax base to increase... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211205/hong-kong-budget-2023-24-finance-chief-dismisses-fiscal-discipline-fears-over-infrastructure-bonds?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211205/hong-kong-budget-2023-24-finance-chief-dismisses-fiscal-discipline-fears-over-infrastructure-bonds?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Feb 2023 04:48:59 +0000 The seeds planted by Hong Kong’s financial secretary in his latest budget to grow new areas of excellence for the economy in green finance and innovation and technology will take a long time to bear fruit, economists and analysts have warned. Responding to Paul Chan Mo-po’s budget speech on Wednesday, they called on the government to strengthen current pillar industries and take the bold but difficult step to widen the tax base in charting the path to recovery for a battered economy. Experts who... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3211164/budget-2023-24-paul-chan-making-right-economic-bets-hong-kong-and-he-kicking-can-down-road-raising?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3211164/budget-2023-24-paul-chan-making-right-economic-bets-hong-kong-and-he-kicking-can-down-road-raising?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Feb 2023 00:00:15 +0000 Coming up with a blueprint to rebuild Hong Kong after three years of pandemic-related setbacks was never going to be easy. From renewing hope to tackling social woes and helping those in need, there is much to be done as the city embarks on a long journey of post-Covid recovery. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po was well aware of the expectations and challenges as he tabled the new government’s first budget on Wednesday. Echoing the publicity for his budget consultation earlier, the blueprint... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3211171/paul-chans-budget-only-start-long-road-recovery-resilient-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3211171/paul-chans-budget-only-start-long-road-recovery-resilient-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Feb 2023 22:45:09 +0000 Smokers in Hong Kong must pay HK$12 (US$1.53) more for a pack of cigarettes after the finance chief upped the tax on tobacco on Wednesday in a move designed to cut the number of smokers by 100,000 in the next three years and also boost the government’s coffers. The 31 per cent tax hike pushed the average cost of a pack of cigarettes to HK$73.75, and some convenience stores raised the retail price immediately. “Increasing tobacco duty is recognised internationally as the most effective means to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3211166/budget-2023-24-smokers-hit-hk12-hike-pack-hong-kong-still-trails-others-region-taxing-tobacco?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3211166/budget-2023-24-smokers-hit-hk12-hike-pack-hong-kong-still-trails-others-region-taxing-tobacco?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Feb 2023 15:49:26 +0000 Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po floated a basket of sweeteners in his budget on Wednesday to boost the economy and sentiment, ranging from a fresh round of consumption vouchers, stamp duty concessions for first-time homebuyers and tax breaks, to local events and perks under a “Happy Hong Kong” campaign. The government also increased its take from sin taxes by hitting smokers with higher tobacco duty and charging an annual special betting levy of HK$2.4 billion (US$307.7 million) on the Hong... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3211165/budget-2023-24-some-relief-hong-kongs-needy-first-time-homebuyers-smokers-fume-and-businesses-call?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3211165/budget-2023-24-some-relief-hong-kongs-needy-first-time-homebuyers-smokers-fume-and-businesses-call?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Feb 2023 15:47:39 +0000 Hong Kong community leaders have dismissed the government’s latest budget blueprint as “hopeless for the needy” despite some lawmakers hailing it as a good allocation of resources. The HK$5,000 (US$637) consumer vouchers for residents, a highlight of Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po’s speech on Wednesday, would hardly cover the rate of inflation and setbacks suffered by the underprivileged throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, they said. Chan has set aside an annual budget of HK$174 million to... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211155/hong-kong-budget-empty-talk-or-good-resource-allocation-community-heads-say-plan-does-little-needy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211155/hong-kong-budget-empty-talk-or-good-resource-allocation-community-heads-say-plan-does-little-needy?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Feb 2023 13:32:57 +0000 Hong Kong’s financial chief has earmarked more than HK$10 billion (US$1.2 billion) to drive the development of innovation and technology (I&T), with a new microelectronics institute seeking to produce sought-after chips for electric car manufacturing to complement mainland China’s tech strategies. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po’s latest budget on Wednesday rolled out a string of initiatives to drive the city’s development. He emphasised the need to “actively align” with national development... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211153/budget-2023-24-hong-kong-earmarks-billions-drive-innovation-and-technology-industry-starting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211153/budget-2023-24-hong-kong-earmarks-billions-drive-innovation-and-technology-industry-starting?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Feb 2023 13:13:04 +0000 Overseas individuals can gain residency in Hong Kong by ploughing capital into the city under a revamped investment scheme announced by the finance chief on Wednesday, although the amount required will be multiples of the old HK$10 million threshold for a similar programme suspended eight years ago. But the Capital Investment Entrant Scheme would exclude property deals and mainland Chinese residents, according to Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, who said the programme would enrich the talent... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211151/budget-2023-24-hong-kong-revamps-investment-scheme-residency-amount-needed-will-be-multiples-old?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211151/budget-2023-24-hong-kong-revamps-investment-scheme-residency-amount-needed-will-be-multiples-old?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Feb 2023 13:12:49 +0000 Hong Kong is to hand out another round of consumption vouchers – but slashed the value by half to HK$5,000 (US$637) as economists and politicians said they were sceptical about the scheme’s effectiveness in boosting the economy. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Wednesday the first instalment of HK$3,000 would be released in April with the remainder given out in the middle of the year and permanent Hong Kong residents and new arrivals will be eligible. “We are concerned that the... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211138/budget-2023-24-hong-kong-consumption-voucher-scheme-enters-third-year-value-halved-hk5000-government?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211138/budget-2023-24-hong-kong-consumption-voucher-scheme-enters-third-year-value-halved-hk5000-government?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Feb 2023 13:08:01 +0000 Hong Kong’s finance chief has mapped out plans for the city’s post-pandemic economic transformation with new engines of growth, while seeking to boost revenue with immediate steps such as raising betting and tobacco taxes and offering a range of relief measures including consumption vouchers and help for first-time homebuyers. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po, unveiling his budget on Wednesday, aimed to strike a balance between meeting the immediate needs of residents and businesses hit by... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211147/budget-2023-24-finance-chief-maps-out-plan-hong-kongs-post-pandemic-recovery?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211147/budget-2023-24-finance-chief-maps-out-plan-hong-kongs-post-pandemic-recovery?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Feb 2023 12:36:47 +0000 Hong Kong will increase the child allowance rate by HK$10,000 (US$1,275) in a bid to ease financial strain on families, and while the move has been welcomed by one population expert, he warned the more generous amount would do little to boost the decline in the birth rate. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Wednesday also proposed doubling the tax deduction for retirement fund contributions made by employers for workers aged 65 or above to encourage greater employment of older residents. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3211144/budget-2023-24-child-allowance-boosted-hk10000-increase-enough-turn-around-hong-kongs-sagging-birth?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3211144/budget-2023-24-child-allowance-boosted-hk10000-increase-enough-turn-around-hong-kongs-sagging-birth?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Feb 2023 12:25:41 +0000 While Hong Kong’s financial health will not return to the black until 2024-25, the government plans to set up an unprecedented scheme to issue infrastructure bonds to ease its cash flow pressure. In his first post-pandemic budget speech on Wednesday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po warned that the city would plunge into a bigger deficit than he anticipated, at HK$139.8 billion (US$17.8 billion) in 2022-23. This will be the third deficit in four years. Chan said the government spent about... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211136/hong-kong-budget-finance-chief-plans-issue-infrastructure-bonds-and-sell-them-public-ease-cash-flow?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211136/hong-kong-budget-finance-chief-plans-issue-infrastructure-bonds-and-sell-them-public-ease-cash-flow?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Feb 2023 11:44:07 +0000 Hong Kong has offered up a conservative estimate for its land revenue over the coming financial year after recording its lowest income from such sales in the past seven years. Authorities planned to put 12 residential plots, as well as three commercial and three industrial sites on the market this year, partly contributing to a forecast HK$85 billion (US$10.8 billion) in land premium income, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po announced on Wednesday. The estimate is less than the HK$120 billion... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3211132/budget-2023-24-hong-kong-records-lowest-land-sale-revenue-2016-prompting-conservative-projection?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3211132/budget-2023-24-hong-kong-records-lowest-land-sale-revenue-2016-prompting-conservative-projection?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Feb 2023 11:29:24 +0000 Hong Kong’s finance chief has unveiled a “Happy Hong Kong” campaign aimed at residents in a bid to boost domestic consumption through a series of leisure activities, a move welcomed by industry leaders. But an economist expressed doubts as to whether the campaign – revealed by Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po in his budget address on Wednesday – could single-handedly improve consumption, with concrete details still lacking. Chan said the government would work with theme parks Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211128/budget-2023-24-finance-chief-paul-chans-recipe-happy-hong-kong-gourmet-experiences-fun-amusements?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3211128/budget-2023-24-finance-chief-paul-chans-recipe-happy-hong-kong-gourmet-experiences-fun-amusements?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Feb 2023 11:12:32 +0000 The government has launched five initiatives to foster innovation and facilitate fundraising for projects with environmental benefits as it vies to transform Hong Kong into an international green technology and finance centre. Firstly, it will seek to build a green-tech “ecosystem” to attract the best people and enterprises, and encourage collaboration in industry, academia and research communities to accelerate commercialisation of innovative technology, said Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3211122/budget-2023-hong-kong-launches-initiatives-become-global-green-innovation-finance-centre?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3211122/budget-2023-hong-kong-launches-initiatives-become-global-green-innovation-finance-centre?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Feb 2023 10:18:08 +0000