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Boosting the economy together through consumption
After months of preparation, details of the $10,000 Cash Payout Scheme were announced early last week. My thanks go to the 21 participating local banks, Hongkong Post, as well as colleagues of the Government and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority for their hard work. Registration under the Scheme will officially start on next Sunday (Jun 21), which is also the Father's Day.
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| Last week, we have held a press conference to explain the details of the Cash Payout Scheme. |
Register electronically to receive payment through bank account transfer is the fastest and most convenient mean under the Scheme. Eligible citizens can register electronically through dedicated webpages of selected banks. Only 3 pieces of information are required for the registration - first four alphanumeric characters of HKID card, mobile phone number and bank account number for receiving payment. As citizens have already provided their personal information to the related banks when opening their sole name bank accounts, detailed information is therefore not required in the registration for the Scheme through banks. The guiding principles in designing this system is to provide a fast and safe mean with good user experience to registrants.
If the eligible citizen is an online banking user of the related bank, the registration process would be even simpler. After logging into the bank's online banking system, the citizen only needs to input 2 pieces of information for the registration, i.e. mobile phone number and account number of the sole name bank account for receiving payment.
Registration under the Scheme will start on June 21. We expect that morning will be the peak period for registration. Nevertheless, there is no need to rush for registration on the first day since successful registrants registered electronically through banks during the period of June 21 to 30 will start to receive payment from July 8 simultaneously. For electronic registrations submitted through banks after July 1, payment will be disbursed one week after the registration.
For people who wish to collect the payment through cheque, they can submit registration form to Hongkong Post. The form can be submitted online through Hongkong Post's website, by mail or by dropping in the drop box of any post office. Successful registrants can then collect the cheque in person from their specified post office after receiving notification from Hongkong Post. In addition, people who wish to receive payment through bank transfer but do not want to register online can also register by submitting paper form to their specified bank. Starting from June 15, paper registration forms will be available for download from the Scheme's dedicated website and distributed in various specified locations.
As the handling of registrations using paper form involves more manpower and administrative process, citizens are required to submit the forms in accordance with a batching arrangement based on year of birth. The batching requirement is not applicable to online registration. For more details, please visit the Scheme's dedicated website. Hong Kong permanent residents aged 18 or above on or before March 31, 2021 will be eligible for the Scheme, while the registration will close on December 31, 2021. Sufficient time is therefore provided for the registration.
Hong Kong's economy had been weakening when I formulated the Budget early this year. The China-US trade conflict, local violent attacks, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic together have dealt an unprecedented blow to our economy. From the relief measures totalling over $120 billion in the Budget, to the two rounds of support of $160 billion under the Anti-epidemic Fund, disbursement of different funding to targeted sectors and groups are currently in place. I believe these support measures are gradually taking effects.
With the epidemic situation in Hong Kong gradually subsided and brought under control, many people has resumed their daily activities. At the same time, people will start receiving the $10,000 payout from early next month. With these two favourable factors adding up, hopefully the mood in consumption can be boosted or even created.
Indeed, for consumption activities such as shopping and meal gathering, suitable atmosphere, mood and money are all important. The $10,000 Cash Payout Scheme would be useful in stimulating consumption. As the epidemic situation is still developing in some overseas countries, it is expected that citizens will mostly stay in Hong Kong, benefitting local consumption. I notice that many banks, shopping malls and different shops are rolling out various kinds of promotional campaigns riding on the cash payout, with a view to drawing consumers' attention.
The scale of the Cash Payout Scheme amounts to some $70 billion, almost equivalent to 3-month value of total retail sales In Hong Kong. Even if people are going to spend only a portion of the payout, it could still give a certain boost to our economy.
The retail, catering and service sectors have been struggling very hard to survive in the past year. What they need now is an opportunity to improve their business. For many employees, their current top priority is to secure their jobs. The employment situation has been worsening. Based on the current trend, it is inevitable for the unemployment rate to rise further from 5.2% in April, reaching a rate higher that that at the worst time of 2009 during the global financial crisis. The number of unemployed persons is likely to reach a 15-year record high. At this critical moment, any violent acts will kill off the chances of relief for SMEs and employees. I hope all of us could set aside our differences for a moment and focus on tackling the current economic difficulties, so that citizens with shrinking income and enterprises facing financial difficulties can have a chance to recover.
Jun 14, 2020
