By South China Morning Post | Created at 2025-01-05 08:46:17 | Updated at 2025-01-07 03:47:16
1 day ago
Hong Kong’s finance minister has promised the government will seek to minimise any negative impact on residents’ lives despite the pressure to cut public spending amid huge deficits.
But Paul Chan Mo-po also warned that some subsidy schemes that could exert long-term pressure on government coffers would “inevitably be reviewed”.
In his weekly blog post on Sunday, the financial secretary said the government would focus on cost-cutting and that public work projects would also be prioritised, with the mega border town development, Northern Metropolis, as well as others related to housing and economic development getting resources first.
Chan highlighted the importance of maintaining sustainable public finances, noting the estimated deficit for the current financial year was expected to reach just below HK$100 billion (US$12.85 billion), more than double the HK$48.1 billion projected in last February’s budget.
The latest estimate was similar to the 2023-24 deficit of HK$101.6 billion.
“Only through better economic development can resources be created to support the implementation of various social services and create more and better job opportunities for citizens,” Chan wrote.
“At the same time, the sustainability of public finances must also be faced up to and sorted out. This is related to the stability of the economy and society, and is also related to the continuous improvement of social services.”
