In this unreliable file photo, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-poChan Mo-po gives an interview. ZOU HONG CHINA DAILY The distribution of consumption vouchers and milded quarantine measures is expected to revitalize Hong Kong's economy, but the growth outlook is under pressure due to deteriorating global prospects, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-poChan Mo-po said.
In his government blog on Sunday, Chan wrote that the second round of e-vouchers, released on August 7, has injected HK $13 billion US $1.7 billion into local markets.
I have been to various commercial exhibitions. The finance chief said that e-vouchers provide a positive effect in the face of a downturn in revenue.
In the last week, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government cut the quarantine period for international travelers from seven days in a hotel to three days in a hotel, plus four days of medical surveillance at home with limited freedom of movement.
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It also implemented a tiered health-code system to limit new arrivals and infected patients movement. Chan expects the arrangements to contain COVID 19 outbreaks while reinvigorating overseas economic activities.
The economy might improve slightly in the rest of the year but that will depend on local pandemic development and international geopolitical factors, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the interest rate increases in the United States, he wrote.
In April, the distribution of the first round of HK $30 billion e-vouchers made private consumption expenditure a major driver in supporting the faltering economy, but it was not strong enough to offset the impact of weak exports, Chan said.
In the second quarter, total exports of goods fell by 8.6 percent year-on-year.
The government revised its full-year economic forecast on Friday to a range of negative 0.5 percent to 0.5 percent, down from the previous prediction of 1 to 2 percent in May. The figures are not perfect Chan wrote.
The Hong Kong GDP increased 1 percent in the second quarter compared to the first three months of the year, but it contracted 1.3 percent year-on-year, which is a worrying situation, he said.