Xinhua News Agency, Hong Kong, June 10, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Lin Zhengyue, wrote on the social platform on the evening of the 9th that according to the ongoing stable epidemic situation and the increasing virus detection volume, it is expected that certain social distance restrictions will be further relaxed later. And under the premise of controllable risks, the entry restrictions and the 14-day compulsory quarantine regulations are gradually eliminated.
On the 9th, the SAR Government continued to introduce a number of measures to protect and create jobs. Lin Zhengyue said that more than 90% of Hong Kong's enterprises are small and medium-sized, and each enterprise employs few employees, but contributes a lot and is an important pillar of society. Therefore, the SAR Government is particularly concerned about small and medium-sized enterprises in these measures to ensure employment and support the economy. To keep SMEs is to reserve strength for Hong Kong's economic recovery.
She said that in the statistical survey report issued by the Census and Statistics Department of the HKSAR Government regarding the business situation of SMEs, she noted that as the epidemic gradually stabilized and the SAR Government relaxed the restrictions on social distances, business activities are gradually recovering, and the “current trend of SME business revenue” The "index" rose significantly from 31.0 in April to 41.9 in May. In terms of industries, the strongest increase was in the catering industry, with the index rising from 25.5 to 52.0.
Lin Zhengyue said that despite the gratifying phenomenon, it still takes some time to get out of the predicament and return to normal. The employment protection plan launched by the SAR Government is to provide "timely rain" to help employers retain employees, so that everyone can work together to overcome difficulties. SMEs accounted for 98% of the first batch of employer’s wage subsidy applications completed by the SAR government. It is expected that these enterprises will receive payments within this week.