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Wednesday, Feb 05, 2025
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Paul Chan buys food for patrons with consumption voucher; expects scheme to boost economy by 0.6pc
Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po experienced the morning of a waiter as he served Sham Shui Po patrons siu mai and soy milk he bought with his own electronic consumption voucher rolled out on Sunday.
The first phase of the voucher worth HK$3,000 was distributed to eligible citizens on Sunday, while the second phase of the voucher worth HK$2,000 will be released on July 16.
This morning, Chan dressed as a waiter – wearing an apron and gloves – and interacted with guests at a Sham Shui Po diner. He also served them food he cooked in the kitchen himself, like pan fried tofu and rice noodle roll.
The diner’s operator said authorities contacted her yesterday (Sat) for relevant arrangements as Chan wished to experience the atmosphere of citizens’ spending spree in person.
She added Chan also seized the opportunity to up-sell the government’s HK$2 billion “Hello Hong Kong” promotional campaign to tourists who visited the diner.
Earlier this morning, Chan attended a radio program and said the first phase of the scheme is expected to inject HK$20 billion into the local markets, boosting the economy by 0.6 percent.
Chan added authorities are still sending text messages to notify citizens but noted the work of distributing the HK$3,000 voucher to citizens is proceeding smoothly.
Around 30,000 citizens have registered to switch the e-payment platform to JoyYou Card to collect their voucher, but not for some other 1,500 citizens.
And around 4,000 citizens have not yet re-registered after returning their old Octopus Card. Chan reminded them to register again online and they would be able to receive the voucher in about two to three weeks.
Chan hoped citizens can spend the money happily to support the economy.
He expected the decreases in the import and export trade sector in March to narrow down and that the economy will improve in the second quarter of this year.
This morning, Chan dressed as a waiter – wearing an apron and gloves – and interacted with guests at a Sham Shui Po diner. He also served them food he cooked in the kitchen himself, like pan fried tofu and rice noodle roll.
The diner’s operator said authorities contacted her yesterday (Sat) for relevant arrangements as Chan wished to experience the atmosphere of citizens’ spending spree in person.
She added Chan also seized the opportunity to up-sell the government’s HK$2 billion “Hello Hong Kong” promotional campaign to tourists who visited the diner.
Earlier this morning, Chan attended a radio program and said the first phase of the scheme is expected to inject HK$20 billion into the local markets, boosting the economy by 0.6 percent.
Chan added authorities are still sending text messages to notify citizens but noted the work of distributing the HK$3,000 voucher to citizens is proceeding smoothly.
Around 30,000 citizens have registered to switch the e-payment platform to JoyYou Card to collect their voucher, but not for some other 1,500 citizens.
And around 4,000 citizens have not yet re-registered after returning their old Octopus Card. Chan reminded them to register again online and they would be able to receive the voucher in about two to three weeks.
Chan hoped citizens can spend the money happily to support the economy.
He expected the decreases in the import and export trade sector in March to narrow down and that the economy will improve in the second quarter of this year.
