Explainer | Hong Kong’s consumption vouchers 2023: what you need to know about the second round of spending perks
- Second instalment will be disbursed from July 16, with users able to switch payment platforms
- Finance chief says scheme, first launched in 2021, unlikely to be a regular event
Hong Kong’s latest round of spending sweeteners will be dished out to residents from July 16 under a HK$13 billion (US$1.7 billion) bid to boost the economy in a post-Covid era.
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po has stressed it would be “difficult” to make the e-voucher scheme, first rolled out in 2021, a regular event, saying it was only meant for extraordinary times such as the pandemic and its aftermath.
The Post outlines all you need to know about obtaining the latest round of vouchers.
1. Who gets the vouchers?
Adult Hong Kong permanent residents and certain new arrivals aged 18 or above are eligible to receive HK$5,000 (US$636) in two instalments. The first round of HK$3,000 was disbursed on April 16, with the remaining HK$2,000 to come on July 16.
New arrivals refers to residents holding valid Hong Kong ID cards who have come from mainland China under one-way permits or are dependants of permanent residents with permission to stay in the city.
Individuals who have come to the city through various talent and work admission schemes, or to study, will receive vouchers worth HK$2,500. They will receive their second instalment of HK$1,000 from July 16, with a first instalment of HK$1,500 released from April 16.
Non-permanent residents with valid permission to remain in Hong Kong who do not fall under the above categories will be eligible for HK$2,500.
