Deficit expected to hit HK$300 billion: Paul Chan

The Financial Secretary on Sunday warned the deficit in the current fiscal year will hit a record high of HK$300 billion, but an increase in stamp duty revenue last year helped mitigate the financial situation.

All eyes are on Paul Chan’s upcoming budget to see how he will address the difficulties faced by people after living for more than a year under the Covid-19 pandemic.

Speaking on a Commercial Radio programme, he said it’ll be difficult to “sweeten” the financial blueprint, but there will be a combination of measures to help alleviate people’s burden, though the scale may not be as big as last year.

“Resources are limited and there are priorities. On one hand we have to take into account the difficulties faced by the people, on the other hand we have to look at our mid to long term needs.”

“We have to live within our means. Adding sweeteners is going to be difficult. In tackling the needs of the people under the pandemic, we require a combination of measures,” Chan said.

The administration will study how resources could be given to needy people in a more precise manner, he added.

Meanwhile, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong again rejected calls to establish a temporary unemployment assistance scheme, saying there are a lot of details to be tackled.

For example, he asked if a person who lost a job after working for a month can apply for a half-year-long assistance.

The labour chief said it’s expected the unemployment rate will rise further to seven percent and it’s unlikely it will go down any time soon even with the help of vaccines.

Law said said if a jobless person doesn’t have any savings and assets they can apply for the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme.