Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary, Paul Chan, delivered the 2023-24 Budget on 22 February with all eyes on how the government is going to lead the city on the way to economic recovery and reinforce its position as the top-tier financial centre.

To assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Hong Kong to secure their footing, the government will further extend the enterprise loan under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme (SFGS) along with other measures to attract overseas companies to invest and re-domicile in the city. Some key points are outlined as below.

• Reduced profit tax and salary tax and for the year of 2022-23 by 100 percent, capping at HK$6,000 to ease business operation and livelihood pressure
   
• Extended the application period of all guaranteed products of SFGS (SME Financing Guarantee Scheme) to end of March 2024, to give SMEs more room to adjust and secure a firm footing
   
• Aiding digital transformation for SMEs by reserving HK$500 million to launch a Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme to provide one-to-one matching basis for SMEs to facilitate their business digitalisation
   
• Allocated HK$100 million to to support the Hong Kong Productivity Council, which has various government subsidies for SMEs to apply for, such as:

  1. Export Marketing Fund – for SMEs participating in export promotion activities and expanding to overseas markets

  2. Technology Voucher Programme - for SMEs to improve business processes by adopting technological solutions

  3. Enterprise support scheme - for SMEs to conduct in-house research and development to encourage investment from the private sector

If you have any questions regarding how the Budget might affect your business operation or tax issues, contact us at +852 2159 9666 or via info@bridges.hk to chat with our in-house experts.