Hong Kong residents will be given coupons worth five thousand Hong Kong dollars (about $ 645) just like that, writes Hong Kong Free Press.
According to local authorities, this should stimulate consumer spending. They plan to spend 36 billion Hong Kong dollars on the implementation of the program, and about 7.2 million people will be able to use it. Coupons will be issued in five stages – one thousand Hong Kong dollars per month.
In February last year, the Hong Kong authorities were already distributing money for shopping in stores. They issued HK $ 10,000 ($ 1,200) each to boost consumer demand. Hong Kong’s economy contracted 6.1 percent in 2020, the largest downturn in history. GDP is expected to grow 3.5-5.5 percent this year.
Last June, the Beijing authorities issued vouchers totaling 12.2 billion yuan ($ 1.7 billion) to residents to use for shopping, dining, sports, education or travel.