Business
Hong Kong’s tax revenue dropped by HK$18.2 billion in the last financial year, the second straight year of decline, amid slumps on the stock exchange and in the property market. The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) announced on Thursday that it had collected a provisional sum of HK$342 billion in tax revenue in 2023-24, five per cent less than the HK$360.2 billion in 2022-23. In the 2021-22 financial year, authorities collected HK$378.5 billion. Authorities sent out 2.44 million individual tax return forms this year, or 40,000 more than the previous year. Commissioner of Inland Revenue Tam Tai-...
Hong Kong Free Press
Seventy per cent of Hong Kong’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) say their income has dropped below pre-pandemic levels, despite Covid-19 restrictions being lifted a year ago, a survey has found. The Hong Kong Small and Medium Enterprises Association and Junior Chamber International Hong Kong conducted a survey in April, interviewing 568 SMEs from sectors ranging from food and beverage to retail. Results released on Thursday showed only 4.4 per cent of the respondents had reported growth since early 2023. “Factors such as the rising trend of northbound travel among Hongkongers, international...
Hong Kong Free Press
A US bill has been introduced to rename part of the street in front of Hong Kong’s representative office in Washington DC “Jimmy Lai Way.” The move aims to honour the 76-year-old media tycoon currently facing a national security trial in Hong Kong, though the city’s government urged the US not to “interfere” in its affairs when approached by HKFP for a response on Monday. According to a press release from Republican congressman Chris Smith last Thursday, the Hong Kong Economic Trade Office would be forced to state its address as “1 Jimmy Lai Way” in reference to “the renowned Hong Kong human r...
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong is set to raise the hourly minimum wage by 4.5 per cent to HK$41.8, local media have reported citing sources. The Minimum Wage Commission will also reportedly review the amount annually going forward, rather than every two years. The adjustment would come after years of calls from labour activists for more frequent assessments to keep pace with inflation. The city’s minimum wage is currently set at HK$40. It was most recently raised by HK$2.50 last year after remaining frozen at HK$37.50 since 2019, with Chief Executive John Lee saying he wanted to thank workers for their “important ...
Hong Kong Free Press
The Hong Kong government has neither invested in nor offered “additional policy benefits or financial support” to any family offices, a spokesperson has said, after news that a Dubai sheikh planned to set up a family office in the city triggered suspicion surrounding his identity and source of wealth. Sheikh Ali Rashed Ali Saeed Al Maktoum, who said he was a nephew of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, announced his plan to set up a family office in Hong Kong to manage up to US$500 million in a Bloomberg interview in March. The move attracted attention ...
Hong Kong Free Press
Industry representatives have said that local businesses saw a drop in trade over the long Easter weekend, as Hongkongers made almost 1.76 million outbound trips – four times the number of inbound visitor figures. According to Immigration Department data, Hong Kong residents made almost 1.76 million outbound trips from Friday to Monday, while mainland and other visitors made 400,369 inbound trips to Hong Kong in the same timeframe. The department logged 700,808 departures by Hong Kong residents on Friday, 453,946 on Saturday, 358,300 on Sunday, and 246,369 on Monday. Hong Kong resident arrival...
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong MTR fares will increase by about 3 per cent in June, the city’s railway operator has announced. The MTR Corporation (MTRC) – Hong Kong’s only train services provider – announced the hike on Tuesday under a rate adjustment mechanism that takes into account the conglomerate’s property development profits. The government-controlled firm said the increase had considered public affordability as the fare adjustment was capped at 3.09 per cent, the equivalent to the change in median monthly household income in 2023. According to its fare adjustment mechanism, the price hike could have been ...
Hong Kong Free Press
Nineteen firms from mainland China and the US have signed an agreement to set up offices or expand in Hong Kong as part of a government drive to draw international innovation and technology (I&T) companies to the city. Chief Executive John Lee said during a signing ceremony on Wednesday that the firms, some of which already had an existing presence in Hong Kong, would thrive in the city. The deal would bring more than HK$40 billion in investment to Hong Kong’s economy, while creating some 13,000 jobs over the next few years, Lee added. A total of 25 companies were present at the ceremony, incl...
Hong Kong Free Press
Hong Kong’s flagship carrier Cathay Pacific lacked the experience and digital capability to predict a manpower shortage, the Civil Aviation Department has found, after the flagship carrier cancelled more than 780 flights from December to February. Cathay attributed the cancellations over the peak travel period to an “unanticipated and sustained increase in pilot sickness, most likely caused by a peak in seasonal influenza,” according to the airline’s report submitted to the department. The carrier said it had conducted projections to ensure that it had enough pilots for the rest of the 2024 sc...
Hong Kong Free Press
The Hong Kong government has announced it will cut funding for major NGOs starting from 2025 amid two straight years of budget deficits over HK$100 billion. Labour and welfare chief Chris Sun told reporters on Thursday the cutback would affect 59 large NGOs which currently received more than HK$50 million per year each, local media reported. Funding for each affected group will be reduced by two per cent for the fiscal year 2025-26 and further decreased by three per cent for 2026-27. Another 118 mid-sized and small NGOs will not be affected. “We’ve considered it thoroughly. While our financial...
Hong Kong Free Press
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