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Admission of professionals scheme revised
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DONALD TSANG, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), unveiled a cautious budget on Wednesday for the 2001/2002 fiscal year amid a slowdown in key export markets but said the economy was still on track to grow at modest levels.
“This budget is a deliberately conservative one. I have proposed modest revenue measures to uphold our principles of fiscal prudence," said Tsang, wearing his trademark bowtie.
“Given the adjustments underway in the economy, further fiscal stimuli are unnecessary and could undermine the stability of our public finances."
Tsang revised upwards his estimate for Hong Kong's deficit in 2000/01 to HK$11.4 billion (US$1.46 billion) from an estimate of HK$11.2 billion in December.
He forecast a small deficit of HK$3 billion in 2001/02 but predicted a return to a budget surplus in 2004/05.
Government spending in 2001/2002 would total HK$254.7 billion against total expected revenue of HK$251.7 billion, he said.
Delivering his sixth financial budget to the Legislative Council, Tsang also disclosed that the Hong Kong Government has decided to revise the Admission of Mainland Professionals Scheme to overcome the manpower shortage.
In addition, the government is devising a scheme that will allow mainland students studying in the local universities to remain in Hong Kong for employment upon graduation, provided they fulfill prescribed eligibility criteria, he said.
According to the latest manpower projections, Hong Kong will face a shortage of as many as 120,000 people with high academic qualifications over the next five years.
Minor changes announced by Tsang included increasing the maximum amount of deduction for self-education expenses under the salaries tax to HK$40,000 from HK$30,000.
Tsang also proposed to spend more to assist the disabled, youth at risk and people with low educational attainment.
Hong Kong has had three budget deficits in the past 25 years which many analysts feel corresponded largely with the territory's economic cycle.
Chief Executive of the Hong Kong SAR Tung Chee-hwa on Wednesday praised Financial Secretary Donald Tsang's budget as one complying with the government's long standing prudent financial principles and said the budget will help sustain Hong Kong's economic growth.(SD-Agencies)
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