‘Happy Hong Kong’ campaign, spending vouchers set to reinforce city’s economic recovery, finance chief Paul Chan says
- Financial Secretary Paul Chan says the two programmes can help consolidate second quarter’s economic recovery and positive market expectations
- Government is taking a ‘moderately liberal’ fiscal stance this year, Chan says
The “Happy Hong Kong” campaign and spending vouchers earlier handed out to residents are set to consolidate the city’s economic recovery in the second quarter this year with an expected boom in domestic consumption, the finance chief has said.
Chan also said the government was taking a “moderately liberal” fiscal stance this year after local retail sales increased for three consecutive months, with the total value reaching HK$33 billion (US$4.2 billion) in February.
Citing the citywide campaign launched on Friday and the release of the consumption vouchers earlier this month, Chan wrote in his blog: “[The two programmes] can help consolidate the economic recovery of the second quarter as well as the positive expectations of the market.
“Export performances in Hong Kong, as a fully open small-sized economy, are largely dominated by the external environment. But local consumption is an area that we can easily control when we are relatively more proactive.”
Chan estimated this year’s HK$5,000 consumption voucher scheme, costing the government about HK$33 billion, could boost GDP by 0.6 per cent.
