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Paul Chan to stay as John Lee opts for stability in bolster business confidence
Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po will stay on in his post, according to a government statement, as incoming leader John Lee opts for stability in an effort to bolster business confidence in the struggling Asian financial hub.
The 67-year-old Chan has served as financial secretary since 2017, overseeing a deep recession triggered by anti-government protests in 2019 and a strict Covid Zero policy in the following years.
The city’s economy is facing a myriad challenges as Covid quarantine measures have largely isolated the once-vibrant city since early 2020 amid a plunge in Chinese markets. The city’s economy contracted 4% in the first quarter, one of its worst performances in the past 30 years.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority on May 12 intervened to prop up the local dollar for the first time since 2019 as it approached the weak end of its trading band against the US currency.
Lee, a former policeman who’s known largely for overseeing a crackdown on protesters and implementing a Beijing-imposed national security law, has little business experience as he prepares to take over leadership of the government.
Global investors and the local business community are both awaiting clarity on his financial and economic policies and, most importantly, whether he will loosen Covid travel restrictions that have put the city’s status as an international financial hub at risk.
In his first comments after being picked by 99% of 1,424 valid ballots cast by a committee of China loyalists in an uncontested race, Lee vowed to safeguard security and protect Hong Kong from internal and external threats.
He said he would also work to enhance overall competitiveness and seek to integrate the city’s economy with neighboring Guangdong province as part of the Greater Bay Area plan.
After overseeing Hong Kong’s land supply for five years, Chan, an accountant by training, was appointed financial secretary by Beijing in January 2017.
His biggest most recent measures included distributing HK$102.4 billion in consumption vouchers for two consecutive years to prop up growth as businesses shuttered and unemployment climbed. Chan also raised stock trading stamp duty last year for the first time since 1993, a surprise move to shore up government finances that shook markets.
The city’s economy is facing a myriad challenges as Covid quarantine measures have largely isolated the once-vibrant city since early 2020 amid a plunge in Chinese markets. The city’s economy contracted 4% in the first quarter, one of its worst performances in the past 30 years.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority on May 12 intervened to prop up the local dollar for the first time since 2019 as it approached the weak end of its trading band against the US currency.
Lee, a former policeman who’s known largely for overseeing a crackdown on protesters and implementing a Beijing-imposed national security law, has little business experience as he prepares to take over leadership of the government.
Global investors and the local business community are both awaiting clarity on his financial and economic policies and, most importantly, whether he will loosen Covid travel restrictions that have put the city’s status as an international financial hub at risk.
In his first comments after being picked by 99% of 1,424 valid ballots cast by a committee of China loyalists in an uncontested race, Lee vowed to safeguard security and protect Hong Kong from internal and external threats.
He said he would also work to enhance overall competitiveness and seek to integrate the city’s economy with neighboring Guangdong province as part of the Greater Bay Area plan.
After overseeing Hong Kong’s land supply for five years, Chan, an accountant by training, was appointed financial secretary by Beijing in January 2017.
His biggest most recent measures included distributing HK$102.4 billion in consumption vouchers for two consecutive years to prop up growth as businesses shuttered and unemployment climbed. Chan also raised stock trading stamp duty last year for the first time since 1993, a surprise move to shore up government finances that shook markets.
