A new round of HK$10,000 electronic spending coupons will be distributed to all permanent residents and new immigrants to Hong Kong who are aged 18 or above, the city’s financial chief said.
Presenting the final budget address of his term in the Legislative Council on Wednesday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said the city’s fifth wave of Covid-19 cases has “badly hit people’s livelihood, jobs and businesses of small and medium enterprises.”
To encourage spending and support the affected businesses, the government is doubling the sum of the consumption vouchers to HK$10,000.
Last year, consumption vouchers worth HK5,000 were handed out to permanent residents and new arrivals to the city. Those on employment visas, student visas and domestic workers were excluded from the scheme.
The first HK$5,000 of this year’s vouchers will be given out in April to the 6.3 million people who had registered in the last round of scheme, while the rest will come in mid-2022 and new applicants, Chan said.
In all, Chan said the scheme will benefit 6.6 million people and will cost the government HK$ 66.4 billion.
