Paul Chan Sees Return To Growth, But No Handouts

Financial Secretary Paul Chan says he expects the SAR's economy to return to growth in the second half of this year, but he also cautioned against expectations of big handouts in his budget.

Chan attended an RTHK programme on Saturday to gauge public views on his forthcoming budget, which he is expected to deliver next month.

He warned that Hong Kong would likely record economic contraction for last year, marking the first time it had experienced two consecutive years of GDP declines. GPD fell by 1.2 percent in 2019.

But the financial secretary also saw signs of hope, adding that the economy could return to growth in the second half of this year.

He said that while the SAR still faced many challenges, things should improve gradually.

The fact that last year provided a low base for comparison would also help the economic growth figures, he added.

However, when a member of the audience suggested that he provide a HK$20,000 per person handout in the budget, Chan struck a cautious note.

He warned that the government was likely to report deficits in the next few years, with the current deficit standing at US$300 billion after several rounds of epidemic support measures.

Although he acknowledged that the city has more than US$800 billion in reserves, he said he has to balance between exhausting the money and saving for the future.

"Like when you're managing your home and preparing meals, you can spend more when you have extra money, but when food is limited, you need to be cautious," he said.

On the property market, Chan reiterated that the government has no intention to relax any cooling measures.

"We don't want to see property prices being boosted by any adjustments to the cooling measures," he said, noting that prices had remained steady, but high, in the past year.

He repeated the government's stance that the best way to solve the SAR's housing woes is to increase supply, but he also pledged to look into further measures to help people get on the property ladder.