The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government unveiled on Wednesday a fresh round of relief measures worth up to HK$137.5 billion (US$17.74 billion), ramping up efforts to alleviate the burden of grassroots workers amid the coronavirus crisis.
The relief measures include wage subsidies to companies in hard-hit sectors, in a rare move to help employers defer their jobcut plans at this difficult time. The latest round of relief measures reinforces the theme of ensuring employment, which has become a top concern as Asia’s financial center is bracing for its worst-ever wave of layoffs and store closures.
Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor told a media briefing on Wednesday evening that HK$80 billion will be allocated to saving jobs.
The six-month-long wage subsidy program is expected to benefit as many as 1.5 million eligible workers who can be subsidized a maximum HK$9,000 monthly. Employers participating in the Mandatory Provident Fund program are all eligible paid in two installments to employers, and the first installment will be paid no later than June, Lam said.
For sectors such as catering, construction, and taxi and bus transportation, which together employ up to 800,000 people, the salary subsidies will be given out in another form. For 215,000 self-employed workers, one-time wage subsidies will be handed out.
The novel coronavirus outbreak has put Hong Kong’s battered economy into a pandemic-induced recession, with the local jobless rate hitting a nine-year high of 3.7 percent in February.
“The sheer scale of the relief package is unprecedented,” Lam said. She added that the measures must be “clear and simple”, “easy to apply”, “as helpful as a timely rain with subsidies distributed in a swift manner” and “able to benefit a wide range of the public”.
Taking into account the first-round relief fund of HK$30 billion and the HK$120 billion financial budget, both rolled out in February, the amount of relief has now amounted to HK$290 billion — equivalent to 9.5 percent of Hong Kong’s GDP.
“The scale of financial assistance in Hong Kong is on a par with that of major developed economies like the US and Singapore,” Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said on Wednesday.
The massive spending will almost double the budget deficit for the 2020-21 fiscal year to HK$276.6 billion from the previously estimated HK$139.1 billion.
The relief package also includes a 20 percent discount on MTR ticket prices beginning in July.
In a sign of the government’s determination to help the public weather the storm with concerted efforts, the chief executive, principal government officials and director of the Chief Executive’s Office will take a 10 percent pay cut over the coming 12 months.
The city confirmed 25 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, including three related to an infection cluster involving popular clothing and food chain Marks & Spencer Hong Kong, bringing the total number to 960. Of the new cases, 15 people recently returned from overseas.
The government has ordered beauty and massage parlors to close for 14 days beginning Friday.
Gu Mengyan contributed to this story.
