Stabilization of fifth wave of COVID-19 outbreak |
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Chief Executive Carrie Lam said (Feb 28) the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government will assume the primary responsibility to stabilize the epidemic situation early, mobilize all available manpower and resources and adopt all necessary measures to safeguard the lives and health of Hong Kong people and the stability of society. She reiterated the government is stepping up anti-epidemic efforts in five aspects including early identification and isolation of COVID-19 cases through testing, with the use of rapid antigen test kits in the community, along with mass testing in March. Other areas are the adoption of a targeted approach to reduce severe cases and deaths; strict border control measures; tightened social distancing measures and increasing the vaccination rate, especially among the elderly and children.
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2022-23 Budget to revitalize economy |
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The 2022-23 Budget rolled out counter-cyclical measures that cost over US$21.79 billion to fight the pandemic, relieve the hardship of people and enterprises, render support to the economy, and invest in future economic developments. Together with spending in infrastructure projects and other items, the Budget will boost the local economy by around three percentage points. Hong Kong’s real GDP grew by 6.4% in 2021, with a forecast economic growth of 2% to 3.5% in real terms for 2022 as a whole. Taking into account the forecast revenue and expenditure for the remaining two months, the surplus for 2021-22 financial year is expected to be US$2.42 billion and the fiscal reserves are estimated to be US$121.37 billion as at the end of March.
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Retail green bond offering postponed |
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The launch of the inaugural retail green bond offering, for which the subscription period was originally scheduled for Mar 1 to 11, will be postponed amid the Omicron variant surge. This will reduce the risk of spreading the disease by avoiding the social contact arising from the application process. Subject to the development of the epidemic situation, the government will relaunch the subscription arrangement for the retail green bond as soon as possible.
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Webinar on Hong Kong outlook to be held on Mar 9 |
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Learn more about the latest economic developments of Hong Kong at the upcoming webinar “Hong Kong Outlook with HKETO and HSBC”, jointly organized by the Hong Kong Association of New York, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in New York (HKETONY), and HSBC on Mar 9 at 6 PM ET. In addition to the recently unveiled 2022-23 Budget, HKETONY Director Candy Nip and HSBC Economist Erin Xin will delve into topics such as the Hong Kong’s economic performance and outlook, long-term growth drivers as well as the opportunities ahead. Registration details can be found here.
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Online music programs by HK Phil and HK Sinfonietta |
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The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra returns with a new season of “Phil Your Life - Music X Wellness”, putting music and wellness together. The new season opens with “Harmony, Body & Soul”, featuring the Orchestra’s string players combine Haydn’s light-hearted string quartet “The Joke” in their yoga practice session. Separately, Hong Kong Sinfonietta kicks off the second season of its unique chamber concert series “Tiny Galaxy Concerts @ Wontonmeen”, featuring Mozart’s Duo for Violin & Viola in G by award winning French violist Adrien La Marca and concertmaster James Cuddeford. Classical music fans should not miss these performances.
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The value of Hong Kong’s total goods exports increased to US$58.9 billion in January, up 18.4% year-on-year. The value of imports of goods rose 9.6% to US$58 billion for the same period. A trade surplus of US$846 million or 1.5% of the value of imports, was recorded for the month.
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The total assets of Hong Kong’s Exchange Fund amounted to US$597.6 billion as at Jan 31, 2022. This is US$10.7 billion higher than that at the end of December 2021. Hong Kong dollar assets increased by US$12.2 billion while foreign currency assets decreased by US$1.4 billion.
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Basic Law short video competition |
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Join the Basic Law Short Video Competition to win e-coupons worth US$2,500! Participants are required to submit a video, not more than 3-minute long, under the theme "Striving for good governance and prosperity: How the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle is implemented under the Basic Law and the Hong Kong National Security Law” by Apr 30 (Hong Kong time). The competition is open to both residents and nonresidents of Hong Kong. Details and submission guidelines can be found here.
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