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Hong Kong economy
Hong KongHong Kong economy

E-voucher scheme could boost Hong Kong economic growth by ‘as much as 6 per cent in third quarter year on year’

  • Economist Terence Chong predicts growth rate of city’s gross domestic product between July and September to hit 5 to 6 per cent
  • Saturday is the deadline for eligible residents to sign up for the HK$5,000 consumption vouchers

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Residents go on a spending spree using their e-vouchers in the city’s various shopping belts such as Tsim Sha Tsui. Photo: Sam Tsang
Kanis Leung
The strong response to Hong Kong’s consumption voucher scheme could boost the local economy by as much as 6 per cent in the third quarter year on year, with more than 96 per cent of eligible residents expected to have signed up before registration ends on Saturday.
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Some 6.92 million people of the 7.2 million eligible population had already registered for the HK$5,000 e-vouchers as of Saturday evening, according to the latest available statistics.

For the 288,000 people still not enrolled, Saturday is the final chance to sign up.

The e-voucher scheme is designed to boost local spending and accelerate the city’s economic recovery. Photo: Felix Wong
The e-voucher scheme is designed to boost local spending and accelerate the city’s economic recovery. Photo: Felix Wong
Those who applied between July 18 and Saturday with one of the four designated electronic payment service providers – AlipayHK, WeChat Pay HK, Tap & Go and Octopus – can pocket the first batch of HK$2,000 e-vouchers on September 1.
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The HK$36 billion initiative was designed to boost local spending and accelerate the city’s economic recovery amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Residents went on a spending spree early this month when more than 5.47 million people, or about 75 per cent of the qualified population, secured their HK$2,000 handout in the first tranche on August 1.
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