- The government after economic analysis expects a growth of about 3.8% in the country’s GDP.
- Innovation and comprehensive technology advancement have been planned for, and the country has earmarked more than HK$ 50 billion ($6.4 billion) as stated by Paul Chan the country’s Financial Secretary
- The Public health sector has been under a lot of pressure and so will receive some relief with the 13.3% increase in public health spending announced in the budget.
On Wednesday, the Hong Kong government announced some measures that it has put in place to ensure a boost for the country’s innovative industry. The plans involve well-planned spending that will add vigor to the industry. Although the measures are kind of a short-term relief plan, they are aimed at sustaining the growth of the industry.
As mentioned earlier, the country has an overburdened public healthcare system. The ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor further exacerbates the problem. The Financial Secretary also mentioned that not only will the budget cater to the pressures in the healthcare sector with a 13% increase in annual spending, the general standard of living among its citizens will also be addressed.
The world is moving at a lightning speed as regards information and technology advancements. In fact, the Financial Secretary said that the government feels that more can be done to compete with its neighbors that are abreast with the world in information and technology advancements even aiming to surpass them.
He further said that HK$ 50 billion has been set aside for this purpose and that the more advanced a country is in information and technology, the more they drive the economy will receive. Hong Kong will have to do more to catch up with China, Singapore, and even Shenzhen.
The country has a good foundation in some sectors namely; financial technology, AI, and biotechnology. Consolidating on its strength in these fields, the country plans to further drive its economy.
The country’s economy has experienced growth since 2011 and the 3.8% growth for the year 2017 was the fastest. For the year 2017, the country’s GDP exceeded the country’s calculation and expectations. The growth for the year 2017 was the fastest since 2011 it was even 1.6% better than the growth in 2016.
The expectation for the last quarter of 2017 was pegged at 3.2% by some expert economists surveyed by Reuters. There was no forecast provided for 2018.
The recent nagging housing problem has been a bane in the economic growth of the country with economists forecasting the GDP to be at 3.1%.This housing issue coupled with the increasing mortgage and US interest rates trend, the growth of the GDP will limit the GDP growth.
The financial Secretary laid down a five-year plan to combat this housing problem stating that the government plans to build 20800 houses every year for five years. Hopefully, this will ease the housing problem and also help boost the GDP. The Fintech industries can also help this growth.
