Registration Fee Waived To Aid Business Sector

The financial secretary Paul Chan has set aside business registration fees for this financial year, saying this will aid some 1.4 million business operators.

The measure is to help local businesses tide over an uncertain global economic environment, with trade tensions checking strong growth in 2018 and headwinds forecast for 2019.

In his budget speech, Chan said the measures, targeted primarily at those engaged in external trade and small-and-medium enterprises, would be introduced with a view to achieving the government’s goal of “supporting enterprises, safeguarding jobs and stabilising the economy”.

The measure will reduce government revenue by HK$2.9 billion.

The government will double the amount of money businesses can claim under a Technology Voucher Programme, which encourages them to use technology to improve their productivity and services. The funding ceiling will be raised from HK$200,000 to HK$400,000.

An extra billion dollars will be put into the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales – which provides support for enterprises looking to enter or develop their business in new markets.

The fund initially covered the mainland, but was expanded to also cover Asean countries last year. Chan said this will be further extended to include all economies that have entered into a free trade agreement (FTA) with Hong Kong.

And, each business can now claim up to HK$1 million for projects involving the mainland market, and HK$2 million for other FTA markets.

To help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) facing liquidity issues, Chan said the application period for special concessionary measures under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme will be extended to June 30 next year.

Chan said that with global political and economic uncertainties, “we need to get well prepared at all times.”

He said he would keep a close watch on the global and local economic situation, and introduce appropriate measures when necessary to support business and stabilise the economy.