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China-HK Economy/Carrie Lam
Hong Kong, China - Dec 3, 2019 (HKTVB - No access Chinese mainland/Hong Kong)
1. Chief Executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam taking podium at press conference
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Carrie Lam, chief executive, HKSAR:
"Over the past decade, we accumulated quite a healthy reserve, roughly about 1.1 trillion Hong Kong dollars (about 141 billion U.S. dollars). So this is the time for us to tap into our fiscal capabilities to offer relief to the public in Hong Kong. We hope companies can help their employees save their jobs, that's quite critical."
3. Press conference in progress
4. Graphics showing downturn in Hong Kong's economy
FILE: Hong Kong, China - Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
5. Various of traffic, pedestrians, shops, promotional advertisement
Chief Executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam said Tuesday that more relief measures will be rolled out soon to help businesses and residents tide over economic hardship, following three rounds of such policies adopted during the past months.
Despite possible fiscal deficits in the coming one or two years, it is high time the HKSAR government to make full use of the wealth and surplus accumulated in the past to relieve the burden on residents, Lam told a press conference.
"Over the past decade, we accumulated quite a healthy reserve, roughly about 1.1 trillion Hong Kong dollars (about 141 billion U.S. dollars). So this is the time for us to tap into our fiscal capabilities to offer relief to the public in Hong Kong. We hope companies can help their employees save their jobs, that's quite critical," said the chief executive.
The HKSAR government has allocated 20 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 2.55 billion U.S. dollars) in total since August to bolster the economy.
The prolonged social unrest has bitten into the economy. The GDP dropped 2.9 percent year on year in the third quarter. Retail sales in October slumped 24.3 percent from a year ago, the largest decline on record.
The HKSAR government has cut its gross domestic product forecast for 2019 to a negative 1.3 percent, which will be the region's first annual decline since 2009.
The job market also suffered as the unemployment rate rose to 3.1 percent during the August-October period. The unemployment rate in the catering sector even surged to a six-year high of 6.1 percent.
The other numbers are just as bleak for 2019 - investment is down 16 percent, property prices down 5 percent , and newly released figures for October retail sales in Hong Kong were dismal.
Lam said she hopes violent incidents will stop as soon as possible to give the economy a chance to recover.
Multiple districts in Kowloon descended again into chaos over the weekend as rioters hijacked public events and resorted to destructive acts like building barricades on roads, setting fires and vandalizing public facilities.
China-HK Economy/Carrie Lam
Dateline : Dec 3, 2019/File
Location : Hong Kong,China
Duration : 1'00
Hong Kong, China - Dec 3, 2019 (HKTVB - No access Chinese mainland/Hong Kong)
1. Chief Executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam taking podium at press conference
2. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Carrie Lam, chief executive, HKSAR:
"Over the past decade, we accumulated quite a healthy reserve, roughly about 1.1 trillion Hong Kong dollars (about 141 billion U.S. dollars). So this is the time for us to tap into our fiscal capabilities to offer relief to the public in Hong Kong. We hope companies can help their employees save their jobs, that's quite critical."
3. Press conference in progress
4. Graphics showing downturn in Hong Kong's economy
FILE: Hong Kong, China - Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
5. Various of traffic, pedestrians, shops, promotional advertisement
Chief Executive of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Carrie Lam said Tuesday that more relief measures will be rolled out soon to help businesses and residents tide over economic hardship, following three rounds of such policies adopted during the past months.
Despite possible fiscal deficits in the coming one or two years, it is high time the HKSAR government to make full use of the wealth and surplus accumulated in the past to relieve the burden on residents, Lam told a press conference.
"Over the past decade, we accumulated quite a healthy reserve, roughly about 1.1 trillion Hong Kong dollars (about 141 billion U.S. dollars). So this is the time for us to tap into our fiscal capabilities to offer relief to the public in Hong Kong. We hope companies can help their employees save their jobs, that's quite critical," said the chief executive.
The HKSAR government has allocated 20 billion Hong Kong dollars (about 2.55 billion U.S. dollars) in total since August to bolster the economy.
The prolonged social unrest has bitten into the economy. The GDP dropped 2.9 percent year on year in the third quarter. Retail sales in October slumped 24.3 percent from a year ago, the largest decline on record.
The HKSAR government has cut its gross domestic product forecast for 2019 to a negative 1.3 percent, which will be the region's first annual decline since 2009.
The job market also suffered as the unemployment rate rose to 3.1 percent during the August-October period. The unemployment rate in the catering sector even surged to a six-year high of 6.1 percent.
The other numbers are just as bleak for 2019 - investment is down 16 percent, property prices down 5 percent , and newly released figures for October retail sales in Hong Kong were dismal.
Lam said she hopes violent incidents will stop as soon as possible to give the economy a chance to recover.
Multiple districts in Kowloon descended again into chaos over the weekend as rioters hijacked public events and resorted to destructive acts like building barricades on roads, setting fires and vandalizing public facilities.
ID : 8128888
Published : 2019-12-03 14:20
Last Modified : 2019-12-03 18:32:00
Source : China Global Television Network (CGTN),HKTVB
Restrictions : No access Chinese mainland/Hong Kong
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