CE Unveils HK$137bn Package 'to Save Jobs'

The Hong Kong government is to roll out a HK$137 billion package of measures to help businesses stay afloat and workers receive their salaries during the coronavirus pandemic, with MTR fares also coming down and taxpayers allowed to put off paying their bills.

At a media briefing on Wednesday evening, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said unprecedented steps are required to tackle what is an unprecedented challenge, with businesses across all sectors affected by the crisis in one way or another.

Lam said the government will pay 50 percent of workers' salaries for six months, with the monthly subsidy for each worker capped at HK$9,000 -- this being half of the city's median salary of HK$18,000.

The CE said companies will be reimbursed in two installments, with the first of the money arriving by June.

There will also be lump sum payments for self-employed people.

Lam was asked by a reporter why the subsidies will be given to companies rather than directly to their workers, and whether there was a risk some firm owners would take the money, close down and flee.

She responded by saying that reimbursing businesses is the quickest and most direct way of giving the money out.

If employers are found to have sacked their staff, they will have to return the subsidies, along with extra payments, she said.

Lam was also asked how her administration had come to decide on paying 50 percent of people's salaries, when other governments, such as the UK and Singapore, had been more generous.

"We have to ensure that the money we're providing is reasonable to enable the employers to keep their employees in the job. If we provide too small an amount, the employers will continue to have difficulty in keeping that employee in the job. But if we provide too large an amount, then it's a question of affordability," she replied.

Meanwhile, the government said it is going to create 30,000 short-term jobs, covering a 12-month period, and 10,000 more civil servants will be hired across 2020/21.

As for the hardest hit businesses, 16 types of firms will receive a lump sum subsidy, to the tune of 21 billion dollars.

These include the businesses that have been suspended as part of the government's social-distancing measures.

And MTR fares will be cut by 20 percent for six months, with the government bearing half the losses this will lead to.

There was good news for taxpayers too, with some one million people allowed to defer paying their bills for three months if they wish.

The CE described the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic as "disastrous" for Hong Kong, but was upbeat about the city's future once the crisis is over.

"After we spend the money, we can earn it back because Hong Kong's fundamentals are good. I'm confident we can get through this. We need to be united to fight the epidemic," she said.

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