[Explanation] On February 24, the Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Chen Maobo, announced the 2021-2022 Budget in the Legislative Council.

He said that the focus of this year's budget is on "stabilizing the economy and alleviating people's hardship."

Hong Kong has experienced several twists and turns in the past two years. International political tensions have damaged exports and market sentiment. Violent shocks have endangered social stability and security. The epidemic has put more pressure on the entire society and the economy.

In 2020, Hong Kong's economy will grow negatively by 6.1%, and the latest unemployment rate has risen to 7%.

The SAR government has invested nearly 300 billion yuan in support.

　　[Explanation] The budget pointed out that every eligible Hong Kong permanent resident and new arrivals aged 18 or above will be issued electronic consumer vouchers totaling HK$5,000 in installments to encourage and stimulate local consumption.

　　[Concurrent] Chen Maobo, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government

　　After careful consideration, I will issue a total of HK$5,000 in electronic consumer vouchers to every eligible Hong Kong permanent resident aged 18 or above and new arrivals in installments to encourage and stimulate local consumption and local consumption.

It is estimated that the measures will benefit about 7.2 million people and involve about 36 billion Hong Kong dollars in financial commitments.

The Government will identify suitable stored-value payment instrument operators to assist in implementing the plan, and will announce the details of the plan as soon as possible.

　　[Explanation] Regarding employment support, Chen Maobo said that the SAR government will allocate funds to establish time-limited positions in public and private organizations to ease employment pressure.

　　[Concurrent] Chen Maobo, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government

　　In the 2020-2021 fiscal year, the government has established about 31,000 time-limited posts in public and private organizations through the "Anti-epidemic Fund".

As of the end of January, about 16,000 people have been hired.

I propose to allocate another 6.6 billion yuan to create about 30,000 time-limited jobs not exceeding 12 months.

　　[Explanation] In terms of supporting the severely hit tourism industry, Chen Maobo said that in addition to providing nearly 2.6 billion Hong Kong dollars in financial support to the tourism industry, more than 900 million Hong Kong dollars will be set aside to enhance tourism resources, of which 169 million Hong Kong dollars will be used to continue developing local culture , Historical sites and creative tourism projects.

At the same time, HK$765 million will be earmarked to support the Hong Kong Tourism Board to revitalize the tourism industry.

　　[Explanation] Facing the impact of the epidemic, Chen Maobo said that the SAR government has set aside more than 8.4 billion Hong Kong dollars for the purchase and vaccination of the new crown vaccine, and the goal is to vaccinate most Hong Kong citizens free of charge for the new crown vaccine by 2021.

　　[Concurrent] Chen Maobo, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government

　　The government has set aside more than 8.4 billion Hong Kong dollars for the purchase and vaccination of the new crown virus vaccine. The goal is to provide free vaccination for most Hong Kong citizens within this year.

The vaccination plan was launched yesterday, and five groups of citizens have been given priority arrangements for vaccination.

The Government will also apply to the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council (Finance Committee) for funding of 1 billion yuan to establish a vaccine protection fund at the end of this month.

　　[Explanation] Chen Maobo predicts that Hong Kong's economy will resume positive growth in 2021, with a positive economic outlook.

　　[Concurrent] Chen Maobo, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government

　　The Hong Kong economy is expected to resume positive growth this year (2021), but the recovery process will depend on the development of the epidemic.

It will take time for the cross-border flow of people and tourism to recover, and the economy will still face greater challenges in the first half of the year.

However, as long as we work together to control the epidemic, the social environment remains stable, and the global economy is expected to rebound, the momentum for economic recovery is expected to increase significantly in the second half of the year.

Taking into account the latest internal and external situations and the boosting effect of fiscal measures, I predict that the real economic growth this year (2021) will be between 3.5% and 5.5%.

In terms of inflation, external price pressures are expected to remain moderate.

After the local economy has contracted for two consecutive years, overall economic activity this year will still be lower than the level before the recession, which will not put significant pressure on local costs.

I predict this year's overall inflation rate and basic inflation rate will be 1.6% and 1% respectively.

In the medium term, Hong Kong will continue to benefit from the continued development of the Mainland and the general trend of the global economic center shifting west to east. The economic outlook is positive.

　　[Explanation] Chen Maobo pointed out that although revenue will improve in the next financial year, due to the introduction of countercyclical fiscal measures and the continuous increase in current expenditure, the budget deficit is expected to be 101.6 billion Hong Kong dollars.

He said that although the fiscal deficit from 2020 to 2021 is expected to reach 257.6 billion Hong Kong dollars, which will be the highest in Hong Kong's history, the Financial Secretary once again proposed a budget of 100 billion yuan in deficit this year, hoping to stabilize the economy and relieve people's hardship.

　　[Concurrent] Chen Maobo, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government

　　Today's Hong Kong is facing the challenges of the epidemic and economic difficulties. The successive blows in the past two years have made everyone's life difficult.

In peacetime and even during the budget preparation period, I talked to the public from time to time, and I deeply felt the pain of poor economy and food difficulties.

Therefore, even if the highest fiscal deficit in Hong Kong’s history will be recorded from 2020 to 2021, after thinking twice, I once again proposed a budget of 100 billion yuan in deficit this year (2021) and continue to introduce countercyclical measures in the hope of stabilizing the economy. Relieve the pressure of the public, and at the same time increase government revenue and broaden future fiscal space in a cautious manner.

　　Reporter Fan Siyi and Liang Yuan from Hong Kong

Editor in charge: [Ji Xiang]