Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam on Tuesday said 200 more new measures will be proposed for the financial hub's economic recovery, but warned of spending restraint as the government deficit could balloon up to 310 billion Hong Kong dollars ($39.99 billion).
Just one day before the postponed annual policy address, Lam told reporters that instead of bringing in new capital, the government hopes to serve the public better with new initiatives featuring more reforms, simplification and collaboration.
Hong Kong has been in the spotlight since protests against a now-defunct fugitive bill broke out last year, and its economy was further hit by the novel coronavirus. The city's full year gross domestic product (GDP) this year is forecast to contract 6-8 percent, the worst since it's return to China in 1997.
Earlier this month, Lam paid a visit to the country's capital Beijing and southern cities of Guangzhou and Shenzhen, where she met several mainland officials from various sectors. Lam expressed her full support for better integration into the country's overall development plan.
All those measures won't be made possible without the effective control of Hong Kong's COVID-19 situation, Lam said on Tuesday, adding that bringing back exchanges with people from the Chinese mainland would also help to improve local people's livelihoods.
