Hong Kong

Government Stimulus

1. SUPPORT ENTERPRISES

  • Eligible holders of food licence are receiving a one-off grant of $80,000 or $200,000 each. Over 23 000
    applications have been approved so far, involving a total grant of $3.1 billion.
  • Over 480000 eligible construction workers & 7000 construction companies are receiving a one-off subsidy. More than $700 million has been disbursed.
  • Qualified retail shops are receiving a one-off relief grant of $80,000. More than 90000 applications were received and more than $400 million has been disbursed.
  • “Arts and Culture Sector Subsidy Scheme” supports various arts organisations and freelance arts workers. Over $66 million has been disbursed.
  • Tourism Industry – Subsidy to licensed travel agents ranging from $20,000 to $200,000; travel agents’ staff and active freelance tourist guides & tour escorts will each receive a monthly subsidy of $5,000 for 6 months; licensed hotels will receive a subsidy of $300,000 or $400,000 and tour coach drivers a one-off subsidy of $10,000.
  • Passenger Transport – Reimburse 100% of the actual regular repair and maintenance costs and insurance premium for 6 months for the franchised bus companies, franchised/licensed ferry operators & the Tramways Limited.
  • Aviation Industry – One-off subsidy of $1 million per large aircraft and $200,000 per small aircraft will be provided to the eligible air operators. Aviation support services & cargo facility operators at HKIA will receive a one-off subsidy of up to $3 million.
  • Education sector – One-off relief grant of $80,000 will be offered to each eligible catering outlet (namely, tuck shops, canteens, and restaurants) in primary schools, secondary schools, University Grants Committee-funded universities, the Vocational Training Council & self-financing post-secondary institutions.
  • Construction sector – One-off subsidy of $7,500 to each eligible construction worker; and $20,000 or $10,000 to each construction-related enterprise not eligible for the first-round measures.
  • Provide a one-off grant of $7,500 to each registered coach under National Sports Associations and Sports
    Organisations who has proven coaching record in the past year.
  • Catering Sector – Subsidy ranging from $250,000 to $2.2 million (paid in two tranches during a 6-month period) for licensed catering outlets selling or supplying food for consumption on their premises.
  • Rates for non-domestic properties and business registration fees.
  • Subsidy for electricity charges. Reduction of rental of government premises and land.
  • $10,000 cash payout to each Hong Kong permanent resident aged 18 or above.
  • MTRCL to provide a 20% fare concession for 6 months from 1 July.
  • To temporarily relax the threshold of the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme from $400 to $200, from July to December.
  • Grant interest-free deferral of loan repayment for 2 years to students receiving loans from the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency.
  • Provide an additional $1,000 for each student receiving $2,500 under the Student Grant for the 2019/20 school year.
  • Extra 1 month payment of CSSA standard rate, Old Age Allowance, Old Age Living Allowance or Disability Allowance. Similar arrangement will apply to Work Incentive.
  • Pay 1 month’s rent for lower income tenants living in public rental units of the Hong Kong Housing Authority and the Hong Kong Housing Society.
  • Eligible Working Family Allowance (WFA) households and Student Financial Assistance (SFA) households will benefit from a one-off special allowance. WFA households will receive a lump sum equivalent to two-month allowance, while SFA households will receive a one-off grant of $4,640.
  • Provide a monthly allowance of $1,000 to each cleansing worker, toilet attendant, security staff engaged by service contractors of the Government and Hong Kong Housing Authority for no less than 4 months.

2. BUSINESS CASH FLOW

  • Under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme, a special 100% concessionary low-interest loan to be introduced for which the Government provides 100% guarantee. The “principal moratorium” will be extended from 6 months to 1 year, and the Government will increase its guarantee commitment from $20 billion to $50 billion. The special loan will be rolled out before end of April.
  • Loans under the 80% and 90% guarantee products will enjoy an interest subsidy up to 3% and be open to
    application by listed companies, both valid for 1 year.
  • Maximum loan amount for all loan guarantee products will also be raised -
    80% guarantee product: $18 million
    90% guarantee product: $8 million
    100% special guarantee product: $4 million
  • Waive rates for non-domestic properties in 2020-21, subject to a ceiling of $5,000 per quarter in the first two quarters, and a ceiling of $1,500 per quarter in the remaining two quarters.
  • Reduce profits tax by 100% in Year of Assessment (YA) 2019-20, subject to a ceiling of $20,000.
    Waive registration fees for annual returns charged by the Companies Registry for 2 years.
  • Provide 75% rental concession to eligible tenants of government premises and eligible holders in respect of tenancies on government land from April to September 2020.
  • Provide 75% electricity charges subsidy to non-residential accounts for 8 months with a monthly cap of $5,000.
  • Waive 75% water and sewage charges for non-domestic accounts for 12 months till November 2020.
    Increase the waiver amount of rental fees of venues under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department from 50% to 75% for the period from April 2020 to September 2020.
  • Grant interest-free deferral of loan repayment for 2 years to those self-financing post-secondary institutions and nonprofit- making international schools which have taken loans from the Government.
  • Waive business registration fees in 2020-21.

3. TAX RELIEF

  • Reduce salaries tax and tax under personal assessment for YA 2019-20 by 100%, subject to a ceiling of $20,000.
  • Deadline for payment of salaries tax, tax under personal assessment and profits tax for YA 2018-19 that due in April to June this year automatically extended for 3 months.
  • Waive rates of domestic properties for four quarters of 2020-21, subject to a ceiling of $1,500 per quarter.

4. UNEMPLOYMENT SUPPORT

  • Temporarily relax the asset limits for able-bodied applicants of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme by 100% for 6 months. Expect to benefit 40000 households. The CSSA is a household-based scheme, helping recipients meet their basic needs. The value of an owner-occupied residential property of able-bodied households will be disregarded as asset for a grace period of 12 months.

5. JOB CREATION & ADVANCEMENT

  • Rates for non-domestic properties and business registration fees. Invest $6 billion to create around 30000 jobs in the public and private sectors for people of different skill sets and academic qualifications, benefiting professionals and technicians, fresh graduates, middle level and grassroots workers.
  • The Government will recruit about 10000 civil servants and create about 5000 short-term intern positions for young people in the coming year.
  • Matching Grants for Skills Upgrading: Provide matching grants for training programmes for staff in the public and private sectors ($100 million).
  • Provide $2.5 billion to the Employees Retraining Board to enhance the Love Upgrading Special Scheme to provide 10000 additional places and increase the maximum monthly allowance of all eligible trainees to $5,800.
  • Provide about $90 million in subsidies to appointed training bodies of the Employees Retraining Board so that training centres can maintain basic operations.
  • Provide about $30 million in training subsidies to some 600 consulting firms in the construction sector.
  • Additional annual funding of $30 million to enhance Labour Department’s employment programmes by raising the ceiling of on-the-job training allowance.
  • Distance Business Programme: Support enterprises to continue business with technology adoption and related training. Expect to benefit over 3000 enterprises and 40000 individuals (about $500 million).
  • Subsidise the public and private sectors for projects deploying 5G technologies, subject to a cap of $500,000 for each project. Expect to subsidise 100 projects (about $60 million).
  • LAWTECH Fund: Assist the legal sector and related persons to procure / upgrade their information technology systems and arrange relevant LAWTECH training for staff to support the development of remote hearings. About 700 stakeholders will benefit (about $40 million).
  • Provide Online Dispute Resolution services for disputes related to or arising from COVID-19 (about $70 million).

Sources:

1. https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202003/19/P2020031900552.htm?fontSize=1
2. https://www.budget.gov.hk/2020/eng/nt.html
3. https://www.budget.gov.hk/2020/eng/pdf/Budget2020_eng.pdf
4. https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/eng/anti-epidemic-fund.html
5. https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202003/17/P2020031700617.htm
6. https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/202003/16/P2020031600197.htm
7. https://www.coronavirus.gov.hk/pdf/f19-46e-B15.pdf
8. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/3078969/coronavirus-hong-kong-set-hk100-billion-covid-19-relief