In this undated file photo, Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po gives an interview. (ZOU HONG / CHINA DAILY)

The distribution of consumption vouchers and eased quarantine measures are expected to help revitalize Hong Kong’s economy, but the growth outlook is under pressure due to deteriorating global prospects, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said.

In his government blog on Sunday, Chan wrote that the second round of e-vouchers, released on Aug 7, has injected HK$13 billion (US$1.7 billion) into local markets.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said the second round of e-vouchers, released on Aug 7, has injected HK$13 billion (US$1.7 billion) into local markets

“I have been to various commercial exhibitions. … Many exhibitors said e-vouchers provide a positive effect” in the face of a revenue downturn, the finance chief added.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government cut the quarantine period for international travelers last week from seven days in a hotel, to three in a hotel plus four days of medical surveillance at home with limited freedom of movement.

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It also implemented a tiered health-code system to limit new arrivals’ and infected patients’ movement. Chan expects the arrangements to effectively contain COVID-19 outbreaks while reinvigorating overseas economic activities.

The economy might improve slightly in the rest of this year, but that will depend on the local pandemic development and international geopolitical factors, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the interest rate increases in the United States, he wrote.

“The distribution of the first round of HK$30 billion e-vouchers in April made the private consumption expenditure a major drive in supporting the faltering economy, but it was not strong enough to offset the impact of weak exports,” Chan said.

In the second quarter, total exports of goods recorded a widened year-on-year fall of 8.6 percent in real terms.

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The government revised its full-year economic forecast on Friday to a range of negative 0.5 percent to 0.5 percent, down from the previous prediction of 1 to 2 percent in May. The figures are “far from ideal”, Chan wrote.

The Hong Kong GDP expanded 1 percent in the second quarter compared with the first three months of this year, but it contracted 1.3 percent year-on-year, which is a “worrying situation”, he said.

tianyuanzhang@chinadailyhk.com