The Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passed the draft bill of the Appropriation Bill for the fiscal budget for the fiscal year 2024/2025 in the third reading on the 8th. The Financial Secretary of the SAR Government, Paul Chan, thanked the Legislative Council for its support and the valuable opinions put forward by the members, and said that the government will do its utmost to implement the relevant measures as soon as possible.
Paul Chan pointed out that Hong Kong is in the period of economic transformation, with opportunities and challenges coexisting. It is necessary to have a deep understanding of the international situation, understand the country’s development strategy, and focus on responding to different challenges. “Confidence” has become the most important force for Hong Kong to firmly develop its economy.
The theme of the new fiscal budget is “firm confidence, seize opportunities, and promote high-quality development.” Paul Chan said that in the face of a complex and changing external environment, the SAR government has created conditions conducive to economic development on the one hand, and introduced different measures on the other hand, hoping to develop better with the industry in finance, technology, tourism, retail and other aspects.
Paul Chan emphasized that in the medium and long term, the measures of the new fiscal budget focus on accelerating the development of new quality productivity, including accelerating green transformation, accelerating the development of the digital economy, and continuing to promote the construction of the “eight centers” mentioned in the country’s “14th Five-Year Plan”.