The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has set a target of restoring fiscal balance in the medium term by boosting the economy, cutting operating expenditure and raising revenue, a HK government official said here Friday.
Speaking at a luncheon held by the British Chamber of Commerce,Frederick Ma, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, said that the government will cut operating expenditure by a further 20 billion Hong Kong dollars (2.56 billion US dollars).
It is no easy task, said Ma, adding that cutting expenditure isdifficult whether in the public or private sector.
In addition, the government could not rely on fiscal reserves indefinitely without implementing the necessary measures to increase recurrent and capital revenues, said Ma.
He said that the impact of SARS is one-off and short-term, and will not distract the government from the goal of returning to fiscal health in the medium term.
"We believe in small government and leaving as much of society's resources as possible to the community. Controlling government expenditure is crucial to maximizing the efficiency and competitiveness of our economy," said Ma, "In the past year or so our economy has shown signs of recovery. SARS set us back, but it would not derail us."
The Hong Kong government has identified four core industries that will spearhead economic recovery - financial services, logistics, tourism and professional and producer services.
(Xinhua News Agency June 28, 2003)
