Under an unprecedented scheme introduced last month, Hong Kong has expanded its consumer voucher program to include expatriates and foreign students in an effort to encourage spending and retain talent. The benefits, however, remain out of reach for domestic helpers, who are essential to the economy but severely undervalued.
When announced in February, the program was only available to permanent residents. They would receive a total of HK$10,000 ($1,274) in two installments, said the city’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po. But in June — two month after the first batch of coupons were issued — the government decided to revamp the eligibility requirements for the second installment to include people who are not yet permanent residents but eligible to pursue.
The new policy meant that more than 300,000 people, most of whom are foreign professionals, entrepreneurs, and students, could receive HK$5,000 ($637). Among the newly eligible, at least one-third are mainlanders who moved to Hong Kong through designated channels, such as the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals (ASMTP), according to statistics from the Immigration Department.
This is the first time the Hong Kong government has dispensed financial subsidies to studying and working visa holders. Since 2011, the city has offered five monetary handouts under the voucher program, three of which were conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, HK$10,000 was disbursed to the eligible residents’ bank accounts.
Last year, in a bid to shore up its flagging economy battered by the pandemic, the government issued electronic vouchers (e-voucher) worth HK$5,000, whose usage was restricted to local businesses. The voucher scheme ended up boosting Hong Kong’s gross domestic product (GDP) by 0.7 percent at the end of the year. This year, the government hopes that the program will not only produce a similar result amid its economic downturn and sluggish consumption, but also halt a mass exodus of professionals caused by stringent COVID curbs.
