Hong Kong permanent residents and qualified newcomers from the mainland will get the second $5,000 of their consumption
voucher scheme (CVS) cash handouts, with the first payment of $2,000 being released on Aug. 7
and the remaining $3,000 on Oct. 1.
Finance Secretary Paul Chan said the scheme, which was
intended to stimulate the local economy by enabling residents to spend more, will include
300,000 more people as beneficiaries. He described them as those who may become
permanent residents, such as quality migrants, entrepreneurs and students pursuing
studies in Hong Kong.
PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
These people will be in addition to the old beneficiaries --
permanent residents and new arrivals from the mainland aged 18 and above.
"We do think that given the affordability and the
overriding objective, it would be good to include additional beneficiaries so
we can share the joy of spending the consumption vouchers together," he
said.
The cost of including these new beneficiaries is $1.5 billion.
But Chan also said the scheme will exclude those who have
withdrawn their MPF (Mandatory Provident Fund) even if they are younger than
65, those who have been abroad since June 2019 for reasons other than study or
business trips, and who appear to have no intention to come back.
Chan said there had been criticism that the money should not
go to people who have left Hong Kong.
Registration can be made through this page between June 23
and July 23: https://www.consumptionvoucher.gov.hk/en/register.html.
Those who have received the previous batch of $5,000 through
the four online payment platforms -- Alipay Hong Kong, Octopus, Tap & Go
and WeChat Pay HK -- need not register again.
Only those who are newly eligible and those who want to
switch to a different online payment platform, plus the two new platforms BoC
Pay and PayMe, need to register.
PADALA NA! |