Hong Kong officials this week will unveil plans on how they¡¯ll solve the mounting challenges facing Asia¡¯s financial capital ¡ª chief among them slower growth and the longest string of fiscal deficits in two decades.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan, who will deliver the city¡¯s annual budget Wednesday, has already flagged a focus on reining in spending that helped push the budget deficit into the red for the third year in a row. The government is also considering tweaks to increase capital, from raising taxes on the highest earners to capping a transport subsidy for seniors and legalizing basketball sports betting.
¡°In the face of the fiscal deficit caused by multiple internal and external challenges in the past few years, this budget will propose an enhanced ¡®fiscal consolidation¡¯ strategy,¡± Chan wrote Sunday in a brief blog post, adding that the city will balance the need to ¡°strictly control¡± public spending while maintaining services that residents rely on.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.