"We also expect that this fiscal year will record the highest deficit ever," he said. But it is different this year, Chan added, due to worsening Sino-US relations and foreign economies doing poorly amid the pandemic. The two rounds of anti-epidemic fund and relief measures increased the budget deficit to nearly HK$290 billion. The fiscal reserve will drop from HK$1.1 trillion at the end of March this year to HK$800 billion, which is equivalent to about 13 months of government expenditure. This level of fiscal reserve is similar to the time after SARS in 2003, with a reserve equivalent to about 12 months of government expenditure, Chan said.

Source: The Standard August 30, 2020 19:07 UTC