The new Financial Secretary, the Hon Paul MP Chan, has presented his first Hong Kong Budget speech a little over one month into his new role. Despite a changing of the guard, following the Hon John C Tsang vacating his long held position, there was little new in terms of approach, with similar themes and the same measured approach adopted in previous years broadly followed once again. In some ways, this was inevitable in view of the Financial Secretary’s recent appointment and the Chief Executive election later in the year.

In our view, this year’s Budget speech confirms the underlying strength of the Hong Kong economy, while acknowledging that we are but part of the wider macro political and economic environment. It very much represents a continuation of policy from one Financial Secretary to another. It also indicates that while there are resources available to consider a change of course, global uncertainty has ultimately meant that the status quo remains for now. That said, many of the initiatives proposed are a step in the right direction and we look forward to the government following through with implementation.

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