The latest Hong Kong Budget was released today. Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan stated that over the past year, favorable economic and capital market conditions have led to increased tax revenue. Coupled with the gradual success of the enhanced fiscal consolidation plan, Hong Kong’s public finances have improved faster than expected. The operating account has returned to a surplus this fiscal year, and the consolidated account—including proceeds from bond issuance—has also returned to balance ahead of schedule. Within our means, we can moderately increase support for the public and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This year marks the beginning of the 15th Five-Year Plan. The nation’s stable and high-quality development serves as our greatest source of confidence. The country’s continued high-level two-way opening, coupled with technological breakthroughs and innovation, brings new opportunities to Hong Kong. We must adopt an innovative mindset to align with the 15th Five-Year Plan, cultivate new-quality productive forces tailored to local conditions, and leverage our strengths in internal connectivity and external integration, as well as our talent pool, to help enterprises tap into new markets. The government expects Hong Kong’s economic momentum to remain strong this year. (Hong Kong Economic Journal)