HONG KONG: Hong Kong is headed for a fiscal deficit of more than HK$100bil for the 2022-2023 year, almost double the HK$56.3bil estimated in the budget, as the sluggish economy curbs revenue and the pandemic boosts government spending, says Financial Secretary Paul Chan.

The deficit will also be pared by the government’s sale of HK$35bil of green bonds this year, the financial secretary wrote in his blog on Sunday.

Prospects for the economy remain challenging, Chan said.

While financial-aid measures including the government-issued consumer coupons will help boost growth, the key for improvement is that the epidemic is better controlled and cross-border travel is restored, he said.

The city’s unemployment rate improved this year from a high of 5.4% in the February-to-April period to 4.3% May through July, and should decline further when the latest jobless data is released this week.

The financial secretary said he expected the second phase of consumer coupons to be issued from Oct 1 will inject more than HK$15bil into the consumer market.

 - Bloomberg