Tag Archives: China

A Caring and Inclusive Community

Youth Development

194. Young people are Hong Kong’s future. “Hong Kong will prosper only when its young people thrive.” The Government is actively implementing the various actions and measures set out in the Youth Development Blueprint in phases. We will also open up more Mainland and overseas exchange and internship opportunities for young people. Our target is to benefit no less than 30 000 youths this year, enabling young people to learn about our country’s major development trends and broaden their global exposure. The Government will also organise the Youth Development Summit in mid this year. Mainland and overseas youth organisations will be invited to exchange views on issues of concern to young people and to engage in mutual learning. It is anticipated that more than 1 000 people will participate in the Summit.

Vocational and Professional Education and Training

195. The Government will continue to foster industry-institution collaboration and diversified development to enhance vocational and professional education and training (VPET). The Government has set aside some $680 million to support the Vocational Training Council’s efforts. Initiatives include extending the Pilot Incentive Scheme to Employers and the Pilot Subsidy Scheme for Students of Professional Part-time Programmes for five years, as well as stepping up support for student-exchange activities, strengthening assistance to students with special educational needs and encouraging employers to provide workplace learning opportunities, etc.

196. Furthermore, the Government has also set aside a start-up fund of $100 million to support self-financing, post-secondary institutions in forming an Alliance of Universities in Applied Sciences for joint publicity and promotion of VPET, and raise the status of VPET among parents, students and society in general.

Caring for the Elderly

197. The Government has regularised the Community Care Service Voucher (CCSV) Scheme for the Elderly since September 2023, and extended its scope to cover the rental of assistive technology products. The number of CCSVs will increase to 11 000 in 2024-25, involving an annual expenditure of about $900 million. The Government also regularised the Residential Care Service Voucher (RCSV) Scheme for the Elderly since last April. From the second quarter of this year, the number of RCSVs will increase to 5 000 for the early benefit of more eligible elderly persons. The scheme will involve an annual expenditure of about $1,440 million.

Support to Persons with Disabilities

198. The Government is committed to increasing the number of day rehabilitation, residential care and respite service places for persons with disabilities. As at end-2023, the total number of service places had been increased to 36 400. The Government will also allocate funding of about $130 million from the Community Care Fund to implement a three-year pilot scheme starting from the third quarter of 2024 to provide an additional subsidy of $500 per month for employed disabled recipients of CSSA as an incentive for employment. The scheme is expected to benefit some 6 800 persons.

Women’s Development

199. The Government attaches great importance to women’s development, setting aside $100 million last year to strengthen support for the relevant work. The Women Empowerment Fund, established in June 2023, has so far provided funding support to women’s organisations and non-governmental organisations for launching over 140 projects for purposes such as helping women assume different roles in the job market and providing them with training on child and elderly care.

Assist Working Families in Childbearing

200. Starting this year, the Government will set up 10 more aided, standalone child-care centres, in phases. The target is to provide nearly 900 additional places for child day-care services within three years. The Government will also extend the After School Care Programme for Pre-primary Children in phases, starting this year, to cover all districts in Hong Kong. The number of service places will increase to nearly 1 200 within three years.
 
Revised Estimates for 2023-24

201. Hong Kong’s economic growth last year was slower than expected owing to global interest rate hikes, economic slowdown and continued geopolitical tensions. Notwithstanding a reduction in total government expenditure after the pandemic, revenue from land premium and stamp duty has decreased under a softened asset market, resulting in a larger deficit than expected.

202. The 2023-24 revised estimate on government revenue is $554.6 billion, lower than the original estimate by 13.7 per cent or $87.8 billion.

203. Revenue from land premium is $19.4 billion, substantially lower than the original estimate by $65.6 billion and also far lower than the previous year. Revenue from stamp duty of $50 billion is lower than the original estimate by $35 billion. Revenue from profits tax and salaries tax is $171.2 billion and $79.2 billion respectively, comparable to the original estimates.

204. The revised estimate of total government expenditure for 2023-24 is $727.9 billion, decreased by 10.2 per cent compared to the previous year, and is 4.3 per cent or $33.1 billion lower than the original estimate.

205. All in all, it is expected that there will be a consolidated deficit of $101.6 billion for 2023-24. Fiscal reserves are expected to be $733.2 billion by 31 March 2024.
 
Estimates for 2024-25

206. Looking ahead, the external environment will remain complicated in the coming year. As a small and externally-oriented economy, Hong Kong’s economic growth will inevitably be affected. Revenues related to asset market will still require some time to fully recover. On the expenditure side, the Government will continue to provide resources for strengthening momentum on economic growth and enhancing public services.

207. The major policy initiatives announced in the 2023 Policy Address involve revenue of about $14.2 billion, operating expenditure of $13.4 billion and capital expenditure of $25.2 billion. The financial implications of such initiatives have been reflected in the estimates for 2024-25.

208. Total government expenditure for 2024-25 will increase by about 6.7 per cent to $776.9 billion, with its ratio to nominal GDP projected to increase slightly to 24.6 per cent.

209. Recurrent expenditure will increase by seven per cent to $580.2 billion. Of this, substantial resources will still be allocated to livelihood-related policy areas including health, social welfare and education, involving a total of $343.7 billion, representing 59.3 per cent of recurrent expenditure. After the pandemic, non-recurrent expenditure will substantially decrease by 47.7 per cent to $33.6 billion.

210. Total government revenue for 2024-25 is estimated to be $633 billion, while earnings and profits tax are estimated to be $279.6 billion, increasing by 6.8 per cent over the revised estimate for 2023-24. Having regard to the Land Sale Programme and the land supply target of 2024-25, revenue from land premium is estimated to be $33 billion, increasing by 70.1 per cent over the revised estimate for 2023-24. Revenue from stamp duty is estimated to be $71 billion, increasing by 42 per cent over the revised estimate for 2023-24.

211. Taking into account the bond issuance of $120 billion in 2024-25, it is expected that there will be a deficit of $48.1 billion for the year, and fiscal reserves will decrease to $685.1 billion.

212. In 2024-25, the Government will maintain its target of zero growth in the civil service establishment. Departments will enhance their effectiveness and efficiency through reprioritisation, internal redeployment and streamlining of work processes in taking forward different new policies and initiatives of the Government. It is expected that there will be about 194 000 posts in the civil service establishment as at end-March 2025.
 
Medium Range Forecast

213. We are determined and confident in overcoming the challenges currently facing our public finances. The fundamental principle that we follow is to maintain the sustainability of public finances. We have formulated a fiscal consolidation programme to achieve fiscal balance gradually and maintain fiscal reserves at a prudent level for ensuring the provision of various services to the society and promotion of economic development while also having sufficient buffer to roll out measures for rendering assistance to the public and enterprises at times of adversity or in other emergency situations.

214. The Medium Range Forecast (MRF) projects, mainly from a macro perspective, the revenue and expenditure as well as financial position of the Government. It has fully reflected the impact of the measures under the fiscal consolidation programme. For 2024-25, a real economic growth rate of 2.5 to 3.5 per cent per annum is adopted. From 2025-26 to 2028-29, a real economic growth rate of about 3.2 per cent per annum is adopted.

215. During the above period, the average annual capital works expenditure will be about $90 billion, while recurrent government expenditure will grow at a rate of 4.2 per cent per annum. The ratio of total government expenditure to GDP will gradually fall from about 24.6 per cent for 2024-25 to about 20.6 per cent for 2028-29.

216. Regarding revenue from land premium, the forecast for 2025-26 and onwards is mainly based on the more conservative 20-year average ratio of revenue from land premium to GDP, which is 3.4 per cent of GDP. I also assume that the growth rates of revenue from profits tax and other taxes will correspond to the economic growth rates in the next few years. Overall, the ratio of government revenue to GDP will gradually increase from about 20 per cent for 2024-25 to about 22.6 per cent for 2028-29.

217. In addition, the MRF reflects the proceeds from the annual issuance of government green/sustainable bonds and infrastructure bonds worth approximately $95 billion to $135 billion in total.

218. Based on the above assumptions and arrangements, the deficit in the Operating Account and Capital Account in the next five years will gradually reduce every year. The Operating Account is estimated to record a surplus two years later from 2026-27 onwards, while the Capital Account will record surplus in 2028-29. After taking account of proceeds from the issuance of bonds, the Consolidated Account will only record a deficit in 2024-25 and will turn to a surplus in subsequent years. The above forecast has not taken into account any tax rebates or relief measures that the Government may implement over the coming four years.

219. Fiscal reserves are estimated at $832.2 billion by the end of March 2029, representing 21.2 per cent of GDP, or equivalent to approximately 12 months of government expenditure.

(To be continued.) read more

The following is issued on behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority:      The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) today (February 28) issued guidelines to banks adjusting the countercyclical macroprudential measures for pr… read more

Nurturing Local Talent

177. “Talent as the prime resource” is the fundamental driving force that underpins the development of our economy and various sectors. While proactively attracting talent from around the world, we must continue our efforts in nurturing local talent. Apart from supporting post-secondary institutions to enhance their quality and expand their capacity, we will continue to take forward a number of sector-specific talent training programmes to enrich the local talent pool.

I&T Talent

178. Apart from supporting various talent training programmes under new industrialisation development, we have also implemented the STEM Internship Scheme to encourage university students to participate in I&T-related work. Besides, to better prepare for integration into the knowledge-based economy and development of a digital society, the Government has launched a “Knowing More About IT” Programme to enhance primary school students’ interests in information technology and its applications. In this connection, I propose to allocate an additional funding of $134 million for the provision of subsidies of up to $300,000 for each publicly-funded primary school in the next two academic years.

Healthcare Professionals

179. The Government attaches importance to training local healthcare professionals. The Health Bureau will continue to enhance healthcare-related teaching facilities, while increasing the number of local training places as appropriate. Since last April, we have also started to subsidise the relevant institutions in respect of the clinical practicum training fees for their specified healthcare-related programmes. On another front, since the announcement of an additional injection of $500 million into the Chinese Medicine Development Fund in last year’s Budget, a number of capacity building initiatives for the industry have been taken forward under the fund, such as the Hong Kong Chinese Medicine Talent Short-term Training Programme co-organised with the National Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine in support of building an excellent pool of Chinese medicine (CM) talent.

Maritime and Aviation Talent

180. The Government introduced the Professional Training on Smart and Green Logistics Scheme and the Logistics Promotion Funding Scheme under the Maritime and Aviation Training Fund (MATF) in January this year. These schemes aim to enhance promotion and talent development in the logistics sector in line with new developments in smart and green logistics. We also launched the Aviation Promotion Project Funding Scheme to fund activities organised by local aviation-related organisations and academic institutions, while promoting to different sectors of the community the development of our aviation industry and the opportunities available. The TLB will conduct a comprehensive review of the MATF this year, to gauge its effectiveness in attracting talent and promoting manpower development in the maritime and aviation sectors.

Patent Talent

181. The Government will allocate an additional funding of about $12 million in total to the IPD over the next three years, to prepare for the introduction of regulatory arrangements for local patent agent services. Our aim is to enhance the professionalism and support the development of the original grant patent system. The Government will also continue to strengthen and enlarge its patent examiner team and enhance its substantive examination capability, with a view to acquiring institutional autonomy in conducting substantive patent examination in 2030.

International Legal Talent

182. In order to nurture legal talent with an international perspective and good knowledge of different legal systems, the DoJ will set up a dedicated office and an expert group this year to take forward the establishment of the Hong Kong International Legal Talents Training Academy.
 
Land and Housing Supply

Land Supply

183. The 2024-25 Land Sale Programme will cover a total of eight residential sites. There will also be railway property developments, private development and redevelopment projects as well as projects undertaken by the Urban Renewal Authority. Taken together, the potential land supply for the whole year is expected to have a capacity for providing about 15 000 units, exceeding the annual demand of 13 200 units projected in the Long Term Housing Strategy by about 14 per cent. The Land Sale Programme will also include two commercial sites and one industrial site, capable of providing about 120 000 square metres of commercial floor area and 540 000 square metres of industrial floor area respectively. We will take into account the market situation when deciding on the quantity and types of land to be put up for sale as well as the pace of sale.

184. We will make available land for the production of no less than 80 000 private housing units in the coming five years. Such land will be put to the market in a timely manner. Among them, about 60 per cent comes from New Development Areas/New Town Extensions, with another 40 per cent from government land sale and railway property development projects in other districts.

Housing Supply

185. On public housing supply, the Government has identified sufficient land for meeting the supply target of 308 000 public housing units over the next ten years (from 2024-25 to 2033-34). Among which, as at the end of last year, construction of about 105 000 units under the Hong Kong Housing Authority has commenced with satisfactory progress. In view of the fact that the Cash Allowance Trial Scheme is due to expire by mid-2024, the Government has decided to extend the scheme for one year until June 2025, to help grassroots families on the waiting list for public rental housing. The scheme will be subject to further review in due course.

186. On private housing supply, we estimate that the completion of private residential units will average over 19 000 units annually in the five years from 2024, representing an increase of about 15 per cent over the annual average of the past five years. The potential supply of first hand private residential units for the next three to four years will be around 109 000 units.
 
Transport Infrastructure

187. It is the Government’s vision to build a liveable, competitive and sustainable Hong Kong by adopting the planning principles of “infrastructure led” and “capacity creating”. We are taking forward in an orderly manner the railway and major road projects set out in the Hong Kong Major Transport Infrastructure Development Blueprint, to bolster connectivity between districts and unleash their development potential. At the same time, the Government plans to put in place smart and green mass transit systems in East Kowloon, Kai Tak and Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen. We will invite within the year the relevant suppliers and operators to submit expressions of interest.

188. To further promote the connectivity of infrastructure within the GBA, the Government will continue to work with the Shenzhen authorities through the Task Force for Hong Kong-Shenzhen Co-operation on Cross-Boundary Railway Infrastructure. We will take forward two cross-boundary projects, namely the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Rail Link (Hung Shui Kiu – Qianhai) and the Northern Link Spur Line, to jointly develop the concept of “GBA on the Rail”.

189. Meanwhile, to raise productivity of the construction industry, a cross-departmental steering committee under the DEVB will soon formulate various measures to enhance the application of Modular Integrated Construction (MiC). We will strengthen collaboration with the Guangdong Provincial Government to enhance the manufacturing, import/export facilitation, and exportability of MiC modules, with a view to developing MiC as one of the industries in the GBA that enjoy clear advantages. The Government of the HKSAR will also examine the feasibility of investing in the MiC supply chain. Moreover, the DEVB will set up the Building Testing and Research Institute within this year to promote innovative application in the industry.
 
Healthcare

190. The Government attaches great importance to the well-being of members of the public, and is committed to maintaining Hong Kong’s high-quality healthcare profession and its efficient healthcare system. We devote significant resources to the healthcare portfolio. The 2024-25 estimated recurrent expenditure for healthcare is $109.5 billion, accounting for about 19 per cent of government recurrent expenditure. The Government will continue to pursue transformation with innovation, with a view to protecting the health of all citizens, further developing primary healthcare, enhancing the quality of medical services and promoting the development of the healthcare industry.

191. The Government has been improving public healthcare services and enhancing the patient experience on various fronts with specific performance indicators. These include shortening the waiting time for specialist out-patient services and making wider use of telehealth services. The performance indicators of certain services, including medication delivery and electronic medical certificates, were met early last year.

Development of Chinese Medicine

192. The Government provides resources and implements a variety of measures to promote CM. These include increasing the quota of government-subsidised CM out-patient services, extending integrated Chinese-Western medicine services, promoting scientific research on CM and setting relevant standards. We are pressing ahead with the construction of the Chinese Medicine Hospital and the Government Chinese Medicines Testing Institute. The two institutions are expected to begin service, in phases, starting from end of 2025.

Tobacco Control Policies

193. Increasing the tobacco duty is recognised internationally as the most effective means of reducing tobacco use. The Government now proposes to increase the duty on cigarettes by 80 cents per stick, with immediate effect. Duties on other tobacco products will be increased by the same proportion. The rate of increase is similar to that of last year. We expect that the proportion of tobacco duty in the retail price of cigarettes will rise to about 70 per cent, gradually approaching the 75 per cent level recommended by the World Health Organization. This will provide a greater incentive for the public to quit smoking, safeguarding public health. We will continue to step up enforcement against illicit cigarette trading and strengthen smoking cessation services, publicity and education.

(To be continued.) read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Doreen Kong and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (February 28):

Question:

     It has been reported that the supply of foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) in Hong Kong falls short of demand, and the trend of FDHs job-hopping (i.e.‍ premature termination of employment contracts for change of employers) has not abated. On the other hand, the Labour Department reviewed the Code of Practice for Employment Agencies (CoP) in March last year and put forth three proposals to combat job-hopping of FDHs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the progress of work on revising the CoP, and whether there is a specific timetable;

(2) how it ensures that once the CoP has been revised, employment agencies (EAs) will be able to clearly explain to FDH jobseekers the application criteria and possible consequences of changing employers under the prevailing policy; whether it will consider requiring EAs to make audio or video recordings of the entire explanation process; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) whether it has considered including in the sample service agreement in the CoP a provision on refund arrangements when FDHs leave employment early, such as specifying the refund ratio and arrangements for departing Hong Kong, in order to strengthen the protection for the rights and interests of FDHs and employers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(4) whether it will consider stipulating in the CoP that EAs should not provide monetary incentives to FDHs to induce them to terminate their contract prematurely, nor should they provide monetary incentives to the families of FDHs; of the investigation approach and disciplinary mechanism put in place by the Government to address the aforesaid acts allegedly committed by EAs through overseas agents or recruiters;

(5) in order to further protect the rights and interests of employers in Hong Kong, whether the authorities will consider strengthening cooperation with governments of the source countries of FDHs to prevent immoral EAs and FDHs, respectively, from seeking to obtain by deception intermediary fees and leaving service benefits (such as free return passage to FDHs’ place of origin); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
 
(6) as the 2023 Policy Address proposed to relax the visa policy for Laotian talents for employment in Hong Kong, whether the authorities have at the same time explored expanding the source countries of FDHs to Laos; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     The Government is highly concerned about the suspected abuse of premature termination of employment contracts by foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) to change employers (commonly known as “job-hopping”). Apart from the Labour Department (LD)’s rigorous efforts in combating unscrupulous business practices of employment agencies (EAs), the Immigration Department (ImmD) has also been strictly scrutinising the employment visa applications from FDHs who change employers frequently. In 2023, a total of 502 employment visa applications from FDHs were rejected by the ImmD due to suspected “job-hopping”, representing a substantial reduction of about 80 per cent when compared with the figure of 2 833 during the pandemic in 2021. The situation of “job-hopping” by FDHs has improved significantly.

     In consultation with the Security Bureau and the ImmD, my reply to the Member’s question is set out below:

(1) After concluding the consultation exercise on the preliminary proposals for revising the Code of Practice for Employment Agencies (CoP) in the first half of 2023, the LD has analysed and examined the feedback received. Currently, the LD is finalising the revised content of the CoP taking into account the suggestions and concerns raised by different stakeholders, as well as formulating the mechanism for enforcing the revised CoP. The LD will promulgate the revised CoP in the second quarter of this year. 

(2) The CoP requires EAs to brief employers and FDHs on their obligations and rights under the Standard Employment Contract (SEC) and relevant legislation, such as the Employment Ordinance. EAs should request employers and FDHs to acknowledge in writing that they have been briefed on these matters, and should retain the written acknowledgement for inspection by the LD. The revised CoP will require EAs to further explain to FDHs the requirements for changing employers, and retain the written acknowledgement signed by FDHs. 

(3) To enhance the protection of employers’ interests as consumers, the revised CoP will require EAs to specify, in the written service agreements drawn up with employers, whether they will provide a refund or an alternative arrangement for replacement of FDHs in the event of premature termination of employment contracts initiated by FDHs. A new section will also be included in the sample service agreement appended to the CoP, requiring EAs to specify such arrangements. 

     Regarding the arrangements for FDHs to leave Hong Kong, according to the Government’s prevailing policy, FDHs shall leave Hong Kong within two weeks from the date of employment contract termination or upon completion of employment contract, whichever is earlier. The SEC stipulates that employers have to provide their FDH with free return passage to his/her place of origin upon termination or expiry of the contract, so as to ensure the FDH’s smooth return to his/her place of origin upon the completion or early termination of the contract, and to avoid the FDH being stranded in Hong Kong due to a lack of travel expenses.

(4) The revised CoP will further require that EAs should not adopt business practices such as providing monetary incentives to FDHs in employment to induce them to terminate their employment contracts prematurely. If an EA contravenes this requirement, the LD may impose sanctions. As mentioned above and based on the LD’s enforcement experience, the implementation of relevant measures against EAs and FDHs can effectively combat the malpractice of “job-hopping” by FDHs.
 
(5) The Government has established a standing inter-departmental liaison mechanism with the consulates of major FDH source countries in Hong Kong to discuss FDH issues of mutual concern and exchange information on unscrupulous EAs, ensuring that the rights and benefits of both employers and FDHs are well protected. If any organisation located outside Hong Kong is found to have committed improper acts of arranging FDHs’ employment in Hong Kong, the LD will relay them to the governments concerned through the liaison mechanism and request appropriate follow-up actions. 

(6) To expand the sources of FDHs and increase the FDH supply to Hong Kong, the LD has been keeping in view the labour market conditions in different FDH source countries and maintaining communication with relevant stakeholders. As part of these efforts, the LD has engaged with the consulates of different source countries in Hong Kong, introducing our FDH importation policy and encouraging more of their nationals to come to Hong Kong to work as domestic helpers. The current entry arrangement for admission of FDHs does not apply to Chinese residents of the Mainland, the Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan, as well as nationals of Afghanistan, Cuba, Laos, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Nepal and Vietnam. Save from the above, the Government has not imposed any restriction on the employment of FDHs of any particular nationalities. Employers may, having regard to individual needs, decide to hire FDHs from any countries and regions other than those specified above.

     The Chief Executive’s 2023 Policy Address announced the relaxation of the policy in respect of employment for Vietnamese talent and the policy for Laotian and Nepalese talent for employment, training and study in Hong Kong. The relaxations primarily serve to complement the Government’s overall strategy for attracting talent, and do not cover the immigration arrangement for FDH importation. The Government will conduct assessments from time to time to ensure our FDH importation policy meets the actual needs and circumstances of Hong Kong, having regard to, among others, maintaining effective immigration control and security considerations. read more

     Following is a question by the Hon Lam So-wai and a written reply by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Chris Sun, in the Legislative Council today (February 28):   Question:        A study re… read more