Financial Secretary Chen Maobo read out the new budget, pointing out that this is the first budget of the new government, and also the first budget after Hong Kong got rid of the epidemic and resumed customs clearance with the mainland and the world.
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 towards high-quality development.
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 links 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.
▼The color of the cover of Chen Maobo's budget over the years▼
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▼August 7, 2022 The market situation of the first round of issuance of consumer coupons in the second phase of 2022▼
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▼Financial Budget.
The government promotes the recruitment of talents ▼
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Whether to increase the gaming tax or not becomes the focus ▼
What is the amount of electronic consumer coupons distributed in Hong Kong in recent years?
In 2021, the amount of electronic consumer coupons will be 5,000 yuan, and in 2022 it will be 10,000 yuan.
In addition, the Hong Kong government launched the "Cash Payout Scheme" in 2020, distributing 10,000 yuan in cash to eligible citizens.
When is the deadline for the 5,000 yuan coupons for the five electronic wallets?
Users who choose five e-wallets, including AlipayHK, WeChat Pay HK, Tap&Go, PayMe and BoC Pay, who will receive the second phase in August and October 2022 respectively, should note that the usage period will end on February 28, 2023. Overdue Unused will be written off by the government.