Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po meets the media to elaborate on the 2020-21 Budget unviled eearlier in the day, Hong Kong, Feb 26, 2020. (PARKER ZHENG / CHINA DAILY)
HONG KONG - The Hong Kong government will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that the city’s adult permanent residents will receive the HK$10,000 (US$1,280) cash handout proposed in the 2020-21 Budget as soon as possible, the city's Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Thursday.
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At a meeting of the Legislative Council’s Finance Committee, he said banks would need time to coordinate in getting their computer systems set up for the purpose. In a similar program in 2011 when residents received HK$6,000 each, it took banks three months to start the process.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the cash handouts are aimed at encouraging domestic consumption after the coronavirus outbreak is contained
Before the money can be disbursed, the proposal, under which nearly 7 million residents will benefit at a cost of HK$71 billion for the government, needs to be scrutinized by legislators along with other items in the budget, which will be deliberated on in LegCo on April 22 and 29.
Some lawmakers expressed concern that the cash would be handed out too late and unable to ease the people’s financial hardships.
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Chan said the government will consider whether to prioritize certain categories of residents in distributing the handouts. Despite the urgency, he said the government has to be cautious to prevent hackers from obtaining the personal details of the recipients.
The financial chief said he’ll meet representatives of the banking sector to discuss how to shorten the process, reiterating that residents will start to receive the money as soon as this summer.
During a radio talkshow earlier on Thursday, Chan said the cash handouts are aimed at encouraging domestic consumption after the coronavirus outbreak is contained.
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He said the one-time measure should be implemented decisively to help everyone get through this difficult period and the government will be cautious when introducing other measures for the long term.
Chan expects the HK$120 billion counter cyclical measures proposed in the budget to give the local economy a 3 percent jolt, along with the Anti-epidemic Fund, worth HK$30 billion, and four other rounds of relief measures introduced last year.
