[Financial Budget 2023/Electronic Consumer Coupons/Pai Tang/Chen Maobo] Financial Secretary Chen Maobo read out a new budget, pointing out that this is the first budget of the new government, and it is also the first time for Hong Kong to get rid of the epidemic and recover. The first budget after customs clearance with the mainland and international.
Hong Kong is embarking on a new journey in a new stage, with a clear direction and clear goals: to strive for the economy, to move towards high-quality development, and to improve the quality of life of citizens.
He also pointed out that Hong Kong's economy is currently in the early stage of recovery, and citizens and many enterprises are still under considerable pressure and need support.
At the same time, in the face of fierce competition and urgent development needs, we need to go all out to promote high-quality economic development at full speed.
This requires forward planning and pre-deployment.
In the face of resource constraints, our response methods must be innovative.
In a nutshell, we have adopted a "moderately loose" fiscal stance this year, so this budget is still in deficit.
More than 80% of the resources involved in the budget measures are spent on citizens and small and medium-sized enterprises, hoping to take care of citizens in need as much as possible; when the economy is recovering, it will strengthen the momentum of recovery and support the economy to move towards high-quality development.
The following will include the government's upcoming fiscal policy.
[13:10] Reserves are expected to drop to 762.9 billion yuan by the end of March 2024
Chen Maobo pointed out that after the announcement of last year's budget, the "2022 Employment Guarantee" plan was launched, and the large expenditures involved in the prevention and control of the epidemic last year, the financial situation of this fiscal year was worse than expected.
Although some of the epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic expenses have been saved in response to the receding of the epidemic in a timely manner during the year, it is estimated that a deficit of about 140 billion yuan will still be recorded, which is higher than the original budget of about 56 billion yuan, and fiscal reserves will drop to about 820 billion yuan. .
He expects total revenue to be $642.4 billion in 2023/24.
Among them, income and profits tax is expected to be 263.7 billion yuan, an increase of 6.4% compared with the revised budget of the previous year.
Based on the land sales plan and land supply target for the coming year, land premium revenue is expected to be 85 billion yuan, an increase of about 20% from the revised budget of the previous year.
Stamp duty revenue is expected to be 85 billion yuan, an increase of 27% over the previous year's revised budget.
Together with the government bond issuance of about 65 billion yuan in 2023/24, the annual deficit is expected to be 54.4 billion yuan, and the fiscal reserve will also drop to 762.9 billion yuan, which is equivalent to 12 months of government expenditure.
【12:19】The government will launch the "Fintech Internship Program for Post-secondary Students"
Chen Maobo said that talent is the most important resource for development.
The future of Hong Kong depends on the ability to sustain a large supply of outstanding talents to meet the needs of the market.
While the government is introducing the "scrambling for talents" measures, it is still the priority to actively cultivate and retain local talents.
The government will start with education and training, and by encouraging diversified development, equip young people and people in the industry so that they can master the skills needed for future industrial and economic development. It will also allow local talents to see opportunities and hope and continue to work hard in Hong Kong. Create the future.
He also pointed out that in order to further cultivate fintech talents, the government will launch the "Fintech Internship Program for Post-secondary Students" to provide financial assistance to post-secondary students from local and Greater Bay Area areas.
Through the program, students can gain cross-border internship work experience in fintech companies in Hong Kong or the Greater Bay Area, and cultivate their interest in joining fintech careers early, thereby expanding the local fintech talent pool.
The "Pilot Scheme for Improving Talent Training in the Insurance and Asset and Wealth Management Industries" has been well received since its launch in 2016. The scheme will be extended for three years to cultivate more talents in the industry and enhance the professional capabilities of practitioners.
【12:15】"Business Datalink" has approved thousands of SME loans
Chen Maobo pointed out that the application testing and preparation work of various fintech infrastructure projects will continue to be promoted, including "digital Hong Kong dollar" and "digital renminbi" for cross-border payment projects.
In addition, the HKMA is cooperating with the Bank of Thailand to discuss allowing tourists from the two places to pay locally with Hong Kong's "FPS" and Thailand's "PromptPay", providing tourists with an additional safe, fast and effective payment option.
"Business Data Connect" was launched in October last year. As of the end of last year, participating banks had approved more than 1,000 SME loans totaling over HK$1.9 billion.
The "Business Data Link" is expected to be connected to the "Authorized Data Exchange Gate" built by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer by the end of this year, so that financial institutions can obtain relevant data after authorization from customers and improve the efficiency of financial services.
[12:12] Actively seeking to join RCEP
Chen Maobo pointed out that we will give full play to the unique advantages of "relying on the motherland and connecting the world" under "one country, two systems" to consolidate Hong Kong's leading position in global trade.
In order to further integrate into the overall situation of the country's development and enhance our own development momentum, we must expand the national domestic sales market internally, and expand the global economic and trade network externally, becoming a "participant" in the domestic cycle and a "facilitator" in the international cycle.
He pointed out that in line with the "Belt and Road" initiative, the government will expand emerging markets such as ASEAN, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa while taking into account the European and American markets.
In terms of expanding the global economic and trade network, the government has been striving to conclude free trade agreements (FTAs) and investment agreements with more economies.
The agreements Hong Kong has signed so far cover most of its major trading partners.
We will continue to actively promote relevant work, and give priority to emerging economies to inject new impetus into Hong Kong's trade development.
In addition, we are actively seeking to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) to further help Hong Kong build a more complete supply chain for goods, and attract more Hong Kong companies to invest in RCEP members, driving trade in goods, investment and related industries in the region. construction to enhance Hong Kong's status as a regional trade center.
【12:00】Single-family office control vehicle eligible transactions are exempted
Chen Maobo pointed out that the asset and wealth management industry is an important part of Hong Kong's financial industry, and it is also an important part of Hong Kong's international financial center in the country's "14th Five-Year Plan". 54,000 people, will actively promote a series of measures to further enhance Hong Kong's status as an asset and wealth management hub in Asia.
In terms of family office business, the government proposed legislative amendments to the Legislative Council in December last year to provide profits tax exemption for qualified transactions of family investment control vehicles managed by single family offices in Hong Kong.
The relief will be applicable to any year of assessment commencing on or after 1 April 2022 after the proposal is passed by the Legislative Council.
【11:57】Green bond issuance increased to RMB 10 billion
Chen Maobo pointed out that Hong Kong is a leading bond hub in Asia and has been the largest center in Asia for arranging international bond issuance for six consecutive years.
The government will continue to optimize infrastructure, implement incentive measures, and work with regulators to promote the advantages of Hong Kong's capital market to bond issuers and investors at home and abroad.
Hong Kong is also a center for offshore RMB bond issuance.
Last year, the People's Government of Hainan Province and the People's Government of Shenzhen Municipality issued offshore RMB bonds in Hong Kong with a total value of RMB 5 billion each; in January this year, RMB bonds were issued again under the "Government Green Bond Program" In response to demand, the issuance amount was doubled to RMB 10 billion, and mainland and overseas financial institutions responded enthusiastically.
The government will continue to encourage more governments at all levels in the Mainland and public and private organizations at home and abroad to issue offshore RMB bonds in Hong Kong.
He pointed out that the one-year tokenized green bond was issued for the first time last week, and tokenized technology is used to execute the relevant bond issuance process, including interest payment, secondary trading, and redemption at maturity.
This pilot issue targets institutional investors and explores how Hong Kong's current regulations and financial infrastructure are compatible with tokenized issuance.
He pointed out that he will sum up experience, examine the development potential and prospects of tokenized bond issuance in Hong Kong, study policy measures, and promote the wider application of tokenized technology in Hong Kong's capital market.
【11:54】Implementation of listing system for advanced technology companies
Chen Maobo pointed out that after consulting the market, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will implement the listing system for advanced technology companies in the first quarter of this year to broaden the listing channels for issuers.
After carefully considering the market's opinions on the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups, HKEx will also propose specific reform proposals on GEM within this year and consult stakeholders.
He also said that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange will discuss with the Securities and Securities Regulatory Commission to further optimize the listing rules to balance market development and regulatory needs, including related arrangements after issuers repurchase shares.
If the proposal is supported by the market, amendments to the Companies Ordinance will be made.
HKEX will also explore a series of suggestions for optimizing the trading mechanism, including exploring the arrangements for the market to continue to operate in bad weather, reviewing the self-execution prevention function and related restrictions, so as to facilitate investors' transactions and match market development trends.
【11:47】Promote the issuance and trading of RMB securities in Hong Kong
When Chen Maobo talked about the development of Hong Kong's financial center, Hong Kong, as a leading RMB offshore center, will continue to lead the management and investment of RMB funds in the international market and help the internationalization of RMB.
He pointed out that Hong Kong has always been the world's largest offshore renminbi hub, with renminbi deposits close to 1 trillion yuan by the end of 2022; about 75% of the global offshore renminbi settlement business is conducted in Hong Kong.
The experience of Shenzhen-Shanghai Stock Connect and Bond Connect fully demonstrates that Hong Kong can assist the Mainland to expand the opening of its financial market in an orderly manner and guide foreign funds to hold offshore RMB assets while risks are controllable.
Under the interconnection channel, Hong Kong Stock Connect is exploring the provision of RMB counters, and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s international carbon market also provides settlements in Hong Kong dollars and RMB.
The Legislative Council passed a law in January this year to exempt stamp duty on certain transactions of market makers in the dual-counter securities market.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange will launch a market maker mechanism in the first half of this year to increase the liquidity and price efficiency of RMB-denominated stocks, and cooperate with local issuers to set up RMB trading counters to promote the issuance and trading of RMB securities in Hong Kong.
【11:43】Investment Management Co., Ltd. has started operation
Chen Maobo pointed out that the establishment of the "Introduction of Key Enterprises Office" (Introduction Office), "Introduction of Key Enterprises Advisory Committee" and "Talent Attraction Group" aims to introduce representative and high-potential key enterprises from all over the world to enhance Hong Kong. competitiveness and accelerate industrial development.
Since its establishment at the end of last year, the Import and Export Office has contacted many key enterprises and actively followed up on these cases, assisting them to settle in Hong Kong or expand their business.
He also pointed out that Hong Kong has the competitive advantage of being a hub of multinational corporations and a headquarters economy.
In order to further seize market opportunities, a company re-domiciliation mechanism will be introduced to facilitate companies registered overseas, especially those whose business is centered in the Asia-Pacific region, to relocate their registration to Hong Kong to take advantage of Hong Kong's excellent business conditions and professional services.
Consultation and relevant legislative proposals will be submitted in 2023/24.
He said that in the 2022 "Policy Address", the Chief Executive proposed to establish a Hong Kong Investment Management Co., Ltd. to better use financial reserves to promote Hong Kong's economic and industrial development, enhance the ability to attract investment, and strengthen Hong Kong and the brother cities of the Greater Bay Area industrial cooperation.
Hong Kong Investment Management Co., Ltd. has started operations and is looking for quality partners to make strategic investments at the right time.
[11:39] USD 5.75 billion government green bonds have been issued
Chen Maobo pointed out that in the past few years, many green technology companies and talents have been brought together, and the government has also taken the lead in promoting the application of green technology, including the establishment of the "Low Carbon Green Research Fund".
Hong Kong also plays a leading and pioneering role in green finance and innovation.
Last week, the world's first batch of government tokenized green bonds was successfully sold, with a total amount of 800 million yuan, highlighting Hong Kong's flexible and convenient legal and regulatory environment for innovative bond issuance forms; , a government green bond denominated in US dollars, euros and renminbi, is the largest ESG (i.e. environmental, social and governance) bond issue in Asia.
He also pointed out that in terms of promoting green financing for enterprises, the "Green and Sustainable Finance Funding Scheme" has approved funding for more than 200 related debt instruments issued in Hong Kong since its launch in 2021, involving a total debt value of nearly 70 billion Dollar.
【11:34】Radio spectrum usage fees can be tax deducted in the future
Chen Maobo pointed out that advanced and more comprehensive telecommunications infrastructure is an important cornerstone of Hong Kong's economic development. In order to encourage telecommunications network operators to invest more actively in infrastructure and provide better communication services for enterprises and citizens, it is recommended that telecommunications network operators The spectrum utilization fee payable for the radio frequency spectrum will be tax deductible.
【11:28】CNY 6,000 reduction in personal salary tax
Chen Maobo pointed out that the government will reduce the salaries tax and personal assessment tax by 100% for the 2022/23 tax year, with a ceiling of 6,000 yuan, benefiting 1.9 million taxpayers in Hong Kong.
The deduction will be reflected in the final tax payable for the year of assessment 2022/23.
Government revenue will drop by $8.5 billion.
He also pointed out that the 100% reduction in profits tax for the year of assessment 2022/23, capped at $6,000, will benefit 134,000 enterprises in Hong Kong.
The deduction will be reflected in the final tax payable for the year of assessment 2022/232.
Government revenue will drop by $720 million.
[11:19] Distribution of 5,000 yuan consumption coupons
In 2021 and 2022, the government will distribute consumption coupons of 5,000 yuan and 10,000 yuan to each eligible citizen respectively.
Chen Maobo pointed out that after considering the current economic, social and people's livelihood and the government's financial situation, this year, each eligible permanent resident aged 18 or above and new arrivals to Hong Kong will be issued a total of 5,000 yuan in two installments of electronic consumer coupons.
He pointed out that in order to issue consumer vouchers as soon as possible, the government will first pass the registration information of last year's plan, and issue the first 3,000 yuan of consumer vouchers to eligible persons in April this year, and the balance will be distributed together with new eligible persons in the middle of this year.
As with last year's arrangement, eligible persons who live in Hong Kong and study in Hong Kong through different immigration schemes will receive half of the above-mentioned total, that is, a total of 2,500 yuan in consumption coupons. Details will be announced as soon as possible.
【11:16】The International Financial Leaders Investment Summit will be held again this year
Chen Maobo pointed out that Hong Kong will hold a number of large-scale activities and conferences within this year. Among them, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision will hold an international conference on banking supervision in Hong Kong next month. meeting of bank governors.
As for the International Financial Leaders Investment Summit held in November last year, it will be held again this year to showcase Hong Kong's unique advantages and investment environment.
【11:13】The economy is expected to rebound this year
Chen Maobo also pointed out that the fifth wave of the epidemic broke out at the beginning of last year, and financial conditions tightened, which brought heavy pressure on internal demand.
However, with the local epidemic under control, coupled with the government's counter-cyclical measures and the issuance of consumer vouchers played a key role, the employment situation continued to improve.
Private consumption expenditure has gradually recovered since the second quarter, but it still fell by 1% for the whole year.
Overall investment spending fell by 8.5% on the back of a weaker economic outlook and higher borrowing costs.
With both external and internal sectors hit, Hong Kong's overall economy will contract by 3.5% in 2022.
However, the labor market has improved, with the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate gradually falling to the latest 3.4% after rising to 5.4% early last year.
Regarding Hong Kong's economic outlook in 2023, Chen Maobo predicts that Hong Kong's economy will rebound significantly this year, with a real growth rate of 3.5 to 5.5% for the whole year; he also predicts that local cost pressures will rise with the economic recovery, although external price pressures will ease slightly this year , but still quite significant.
Taking various factors into consideration, it is predicted that the underlying inflation rate and the overall inflation rate will accelerate to 2.5 to 2.9% respectively this year.
In the medium to long term, Hong Kong's economy is full of opportunities.
The national economy is developing towards high quality and will maintain reasonable growth; other emerging economies in the Asian region will also continue to record rapid growth.
Meanwhile, advanced economies such as the US and the Eurozone are expected to gradually return to their long-term growth trends after experiencing current challenges.
He also pointed out that Hong Kong has unique advantages under the "one country, two systems" policy. In addition, the current government is striving to better integrate the "effective government" and "efficient market", actively enhance competitiveness, explore new growth points, and expand economic capacity.
Various measures will gradually bear fruit.
Looking at the above factors, and considering that economic activities will continue to recover from the epidemic and achieve catch-up growth in the future, I predict that Hong Kong's economy will grow by an average of 3.7% per year in real terms from 2024 to 2027, which is higher than that of the epidemic. Trend growth of 2.8% over the previous 10 years.
Underlying inflation is expected to average 2.5% per annum.
▼The color of the cover of Chen Maobo's budget over the years▼
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Budget 2023 tax reduction｜100% reduction of salaries tax and personal income tax ceiling of $6000 Budget｜Policy lazy package: consumer coupons, tax rebates, tobacco tax, stamp duty, budget for innovation and technology talents｜Sweet lazy people Including $5,000 consumer coupons and transportation subsidy extension, read the article clearly
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When will the 2023 $5,000 e-vouchers be issued?
The first $3,000 of e-vouchers will be issued to eligible citizens in April 2023, and the balance of $2,000 will be issued in the middle of the year along with newly eligible persons.
Qualified persons who live in Hong Kong and study in Hong Kong through different immigration schemes will be issued half of the above total amount, which is a total of $2,500.
What is the amount of e-vouchers distributed in Hong Kong in recent years?
In 2021, the value of the e-voucher will be $5,000 and in 2022 it will be $10,000.
Together with the $5,000 consumer vouchers issued in 2023, eligible citizens can receive a total of up to $20,000.