[12:15] Hong Kong will set up a Digital Economy Development Committee to promote the development of I&T
In the new Budget, Financial Secretary Paul Chan stated that the development of innovation and technology is a global trend and a reflection of the core competitiveness of different economies.
The innovation and technology industry is not only a new economic growth point, but also can enhance the productivity of other industries.
For Hong Kong, whether it is the development of new advantageous industries or the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, the leadership of innovation and technology is required. Therefore, efforts must be made to promote the development of innovation and technology.
Digitalization is an inevitable trend for the economy to move towards high-quality development.
By collecting, digitizing, organizing and analyzing various data in the economic system, it can help Hong Kong better understand the operation of the overall economy and various links, thereby improving efficiency and promoting innovation.
For enterprises, digitalization can help transform and empower, improve quality and increase, and stimulate innovation.
In order to accelerate the process of digital economy, Hong Kong will establish a "Digital Economy Development Committee", whose members include experts and scholars, industry elites, and relevant government officials.
Chen Maobo pointed out that in addition to promoting economic growth and creating employment opportunities, the development of I&T will promote "re-industrialization" and enhance the competitiveness of the manufacturing industry, and will also facilitate the digital transformation of various industries.
The current-term government has invested more than 130 billion yuan in I&T development, and the results are gradually emerging in recent years.
He will allocate additional resources in the Budget to continuously strengthen the entire value chain and the I&T ecosystem.
【11:12】
The Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, delivered the last budget of the current-term government via video. He pointed out that although the further recovery of the global economy will support Hong Kong's export performance this year, the fifth wave of the local epidemic has worsened sharply in recent months and spread. In various districts, various restrictive measures have been further tightened, the flow of people in the market has plummeted, consumption and economic sentiment have been severely hit, and Hong Kong's economy and people's lives have been under great pressure.
He said that in order to successfully fight the epidemic, the government will vigorously strengthen various testing and anti-epidemic work. In the short term, economic activities will inevitably continue to face heavy pressure. Among them, in the consumption-related industries, the situation of unemployment and underemployment will also change. Poor, the economic performance in the first quarter is not optimistic.
If the "dynamic clearing" is maintained, consumer investment demand is expected to regain momentum
He emphasized that successfully fighting the epidemic is the key to safeguarding the economy and people's livelihood.
With the solid support and full help of the country, the SAR government and the whole society must fight the epidemic together and defeat the epidemic as soon as possible.
As long as the latest wave of the epidemic can be gradually brought under control and the "dynamic clearing" continues in the future, consumption and investment demand are expected to regain momentum.
He pointed out that the stabilization of the epidemic will also create conditions for the resumption of orderly "customs clearance" with the mainland, thereby injecting greater impetus into the economy.
Taking into account the latest internal and external situation, as well as the boosting effect of fiscal measures, I predict that the Hong Kong economy will perform better in the second half of this year, with annual real growth ranging from 2% to 3.5%.
High external inflation is expected to persist for some time, and local cost pressures will gradually increase as the economy recovers.
On the other hand, upward pressure on residential rents remains mild.
Taking all factors into consideration, the government forecasts that the headline inflation rate and underlying inflation rate this year will be 2.1% and 2% respectively.
He believes that as the national economy continues to move forward steadily and towards high-quality development, the "14th Five-Year Plan" has clearly defined the positioning and direction for Hong Kong's economic development. With the advantages of "one country, two systems" and the rapid development of traditional industries such as the financial industry, Taking into account that the economy will still have catch-up growth after the epidemic, the Hong Kong economy is forecast to grow by an average of 3% per year in real terms between 2023 and 2026, slightly higher than the trend growth of 2.8% in the decade before the epidemic, and the underlying inflation rate is expected to be 2.5% on average
The government forecasts headline and underlying inflation of 2.1% and 2%, respectively, this year.
(Chen Maobo FB picture)
The economy grew 6.4% last year
In terms of last year, Chen Maobo pointed out that the demand of major economies in the world rebounded sharply, the production and trade activities in Asia were brisk, and the overall export of goods from Hong Kong remained strong.
Due to the continued brisk trade in the region, Hong Kong's export of transport services has rebounded and the export of financial services has further increased, resulting in a slight growth of 1.1% in the overall export of services throughout the year, but it is still far below the economic pre-recession levels.
He also pointed out that the local epidemic has remained stable from May last year to the end of the year, and employment and income conditions have continued to improve. Coupled with the promotion of the consumer voucher program, private consumption expenditure rebounded by 5.6% throughout the year.
The business outlook turned positive, with investment spending up 10.1%.
The overall economy of Hong Kong recovered significantly in 2021, with a growth rate of 6.4%, reversing the previous two consecutive years of decline; the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped sharply from a high of 7.2% at the beginning of last year to the latest 3.9%.
Property prices rose 3% last year
Consumer price inflation will gradually pick up in 2021 due to the continued recovery of the local economy and the acceleration of import price increases, but the increase in the CPI will remain moderate due to the earlier decline in private housing rents.
Excluding the impact of the government's one-off measures, the underlying inflation rate for the whole of last year was 0.6%, 0.7 percentage points lower than the previous year.
As for the buoyant residential property market in the first half of last year.
However, the market sentiment weakened in the fourth quarter of last year due to the adjustment of the local stock market and concerns about the US interest rate hike, and the property price still rose moderately by 3% throughout the year. Double stamp duty on residential property transactions, with activity picking up notably last year.
However, office prices and rents remained relatively soft, while industrial prices and rents rebounded significantly.
The Government will continue to make efforts to increase land supply and closely monitor the property market situation.