HK govt: Cash handouts won't be too complicated, eVoucher Scheme expected to better stimulate economy

The Hong Kong government said generally, cash handouts will not be too complicated but there should be basic criteria. In a public consultation session for the upcoming Policy Address in West Kowloon held on 12 September, chief executive Carrie Lam was questioned by an attendant, according to several reports including The Standard, who raised questions over the cash handout arrangement in 2019, when the government gave out HK$4,000 to about 2.8 million people under the Caring and Sharing Scheme. Those eligible to receiver HK$4000 cannot own a property in Hong Kong, should not have received any compensation from the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance scheme, and did not pay tax.

Meanwhile, the government has reminded that applicants of the eVoucher scheme, whose registrations had not been further processed, need to resubmit their registration by paper forms on or before 15 September to four centres located at Mong Kok, Tai Po, Tuen Mun and Central. A government spokesman said the arrangement is not applicable to those who were confirmed to be ineligible under the eVoucher Scheme or who had never submitted any registration during the registration period. Each eligible registrant can only resubmit once through this special arrangement using paper registration form.

The government said registrants with confirmed eligibility will receive the first batch of the eVoucher on 1 October. They will receive an SMS notification informing them of their registration result about one week after submission of registration. Also, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said in a radio programme that the eVoucher Scheme can better stimulate Hong Kong's economy by more than the expected figure of 0.7%, thanks to promotional offers rolled out by merchants, as well as competition among four eVoucher Scheme service providers, according to a report from Hong Kong Economic Journal. 

Chan added that as long as the pandemic is under control, the goal of reaching an economic growth of up to 6.5% this year will not be too difficult to achieve. He hoped that local consumption can help stimulate the city's economy and stabilise Hong Kong's job market. 

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