Hong Kong Government Offers To Ease Retail Commerce Pressure
A variety of measures has been taken by Hong Kong’s Government to help the retail sector, according to Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau. The local market is expected to improve with the increment of employment earnings, stabilisation of asset markets, and tourism revival. The Government is also promoting mega event economy and encouraging people to spend more, which is expected to benefit local retail businesses. Additionally, the central government has expanded the Individual Visit Scheme to 59 cities. This scheme covers all provincial capitals, which will further boost the market.
Nevertheless, with these changes in consumption patterns of residents and inbound visitors, there are challenges to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the retail sector. To this response, Mr. Yau highlighted that the Government has ongoing efforts to help SMEs. This is to enable SMEs to cope with liquidity shortages, enhance competitiveness, and develop diversified markets.
How The Government Steps Up For SMEs
The Special 100% Guarantee Product offers SMEs affordable loans through the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme. The scheme had approved almost $19 billion in loans for SMEs in the retail sector by the end of March. This will benefit more than 6,000 enterprises and 53,000 employees.
On top of this, the SME Export Marketing Fund supports SMEs by participating in export promotion activities to expand their markets internationally (outside of Hong Kong). By the end of April, the fund had approved more than 31,400 applications from the wholesale and retail sectors. This, in turn, will be benefiting over 6,800 enterprises, with a total funding of $700 million.
Additionally, the Government is also funding to launch the Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme. This programme will provide subsidies to SMEs in the retail and food and beverage industries. The subsidies will match on a one-to-one basis to support the adoption of e-payment and other basic digital solutions to accelerate their digital transformation. Mr Yau also added that with Hong Kong’s economy recovering and the number of inbound visitors increasing, the retail trade will experience a significant boost in recovery.
Bottomline
As Hong Kong’s economy continues to recover and tourism rebounds, the retail industry is to experience bigger growth. The government remains committed to supporting this sector and SMEs as an overall development.
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