The Young Reporter

Low-income tenants criticised the Hong Kong budget for failing to address grassroots' housing needs.  This came after a joint-press conference by seven non-governmental organisations for grassroots' livelihood on Wednesday.  The latest budget speech did not include new measures to support low-income earners struggling with the city’s surging rental costs.  Chloe Au, a member of Concerning Grassroots Housing Rights Alliance, said there should be more housing subsidies to help subdivided flat tenants who are facing mass eviction in light of the Basic Housing Units Ordinance.  The law is set to come into effect in March which will require landlords to upgrade conditions of the city’s subdivided flats by 2030.  According to government estimates, there are about 33,000 subdivided flats that failed to meet government’s minimum condition requirements.  The concern group also called for the reintroduction of monthly cash allowance, an amount ranging from HK$1,300 to HK$3,900, for those who are still waiting for public housing. The average waiting time for Hong Kong’s public housing unit rose to 5.6 years last year, according to the Housing Bureau. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said in his budget speech on Wednesday that the government would finish building an additional 196,000 public housing units in the next five years.  Chan reiterated the government’s target to finish building another 30,000 light public housing units by March 2028.  Light public housing units are essentially modular integrated construction units that were built in factories and assembled on-site which are quicker to build to solve Hong Kong’s pressing housing shortage. Commenting on this year’s budget measures, Au also said it did not address grassroots housing needs as private rent prices surged by 4% last year.  “More subdivided flat tenants are becoming homeless as landlords are evicting them batches at a time,” said Au, referring to how landlords are clearing …

Hong Kong government is reserving HK$4 billion this coming year to fund Tai Po’s Wang Fuk Court buyout plan, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said Wednesday.  “The government has provided comprehensive support for those affected from the Tai Po fire. We have just announced the long-term housing arrangements and earmarked HK$4 billion accordingly,” Paul Chan said. The government has announced a buyout plan on Saturday, with an acquisition price up to HK$10,500 per square foot for the seven blocks of homeowners at Wang Fuk Court. More than 1,700 apartment units would be covered by the buyout plan which would allow homeowners to repurchase another residence elsewhere as rebuilding on the existing site remains technically impossible.  The entire plan is expected to cost HK$6.8 billion, with HK$2.8 billion of it being covered by public donations.  “It’s fine to use taxpayers’ money to help Wang Fuk Court residents”, said Chan Ka-yan, a 56 year-old citizen. “The government should help because the survivors lost the homes they worked so hard for,” Chan added.  May Lau, a 40-year-old citizen, said that the buyout price for Wang Fuk Court units is too high.  “Wang Fuk Court is a 40-year-old building which does not deserve the high acquisition prices,” she said. Lau said the buyout prices seemed to be inflated to take care of the disaster victims.  The average square foot price of Wang Fuk Court in eight transactions through Centaline Property, a property agent in 2025 was HK$6,681. “This is their personal loss,” said Ashley Lam, a 40-year-old citizen. “Public funds should not be used to solve personal issues,”said Lam, who suggested the sum should be funded by business donations instead.  The Support Fund for Wang Fuk Court in Tai Po has received about HK$4.5 billion from public donations, which already cover donations from business …

Hong Kong government cashed in a HK$2.9 billion surplus in the last fiscal year sustaining a three-year deficit.  Speaking in his budget speech Wednesday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po attributed the surplus to a surge of HK$50 billion revenue from stamp duty and profit tax as the stock market and local economy rebounded.  This surplus came a year earlier than expected which is expected to remain until 2028.  Chan added that the city would issue an additional HK$160 to 220 billion worth of government bonds every year, in the course of next five years. Another HK$150 billion from Hong Kong’s foreign exchange fund would be earmarked to pay for the Northern Metropolis project. Edward Lau Kwok-fan, advisory committee on Northern Metropolis, said in a statement that the issuance of bonds can help fund mega infrastructure. “It allows the government to advance strategic projects such as the Northern Metropolis while maintaining fiscal stability and aligning long-term investment with long-term returns,” Lau stated. Billy Mak Sui-choi, associate professor of the department of accountancy, economics and finance at Hong Kong Baptist University, said the government can consider developing the infrastructure in phases to prevent another deficit. “Investing infrastructure is mandatory to boost economic activity as it supports a variety of industries of talent, land and property,” Mak said. “If we divide the mega construction in five years, the spending will be relatively lower than paying it all at once. The government may then sell the land or property in the same district to achieve financial sustainability," Mak said. In his budget speech, Chan said the government has to strictly control the government expenditure by reducing 10,000 civil servant hires before June 2027. Adrian Pedro Ho King-hong, LegCo member for the New People’s party, said he was not surprised to see the surplus earlier …