Hong Kong budget must be ‘prudent’, balance social needs and reserves: Paul Chan

South China Morning Post · Feb 22, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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Hong Kong must exercise fiscal prudence, carefully weighing social needs while maintaining adequate reserves to guard against unforeseen circumstances, the finance chief has said as he outlined the principles of the budget he will deliver on Wednesday.Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Sunday also revealed the purple cover of the coming 2026-27 budget, saying the colour symbolised Hong Kong’s strengthening economic momentum amid a volatile external environment.The remarks came as the city braced for more global trade uncertainties, with US President Donald Trump announcing on Saturday his decision to raise a temporary global tariff on all imports to the country from 10 to 15 per cent with immediate effect. His move followed a US Supreme Court ruling against his earlier sweeping emergency duties.“Facing a volatile external environment and uncertainties in the process of economic transformation, we must manage our finances prudently, consider the short, medium and long-term needs of society, and maintain a certain level of reserves to deal with any unforeseen circumstances that may arise,” Chan said in his weekly blog.Chan said the current administration had been striving to boost the economy, pursue development and improve people’s livelihoods in a way that was “consistent” with residents’ expectations.He cautioned that the path towards these goals and the allocation of resources often faced real-world constraints, saying the government must inevitably prioritise and make “difficult trade-offs” when drafting the city’s budget blueprint.Earlier this month, Chan said that a stock market boom had helped the government’s operating account return to surplus in the 2025-26 financial year – a year earlier than projected.