Hong Kong Announces a 2011/12 Budget for Growth
Posted by Steve Thomas on Monday, February 28, 2011
Hong Kong Announces a 2011/12 Budget for Growth
Infrastructure, Construction and Property Projects in Hong Kong to Exceed HK$58 Billion in 2011
On 23rd February 2011, the Hong Kong Financial Secretary announced the details of Hong Kong’s annual budget.
For those with an interest in the growth of the construction industry in Hong Kong, and the engineering and construction jobs and business this will bring, the speech gave further grounds for optimism for the immediate future as well as for the years to come. Some of the key points of note included the following observations:
- The Hong Kong economy had made a full recovery from the financial tsunami, achieving 6.8% growth in 2010 thanks to the strong growth in the Mainland and Asia. This growth is expected to continue.
- The government will focus on investing in Hong Kong's future economic development to maintain the city's competitiveness. Three of the ten major infrastructure projects – namely the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link and the Kai Tak Development Plan Stage 1 - have already entered the construction phase.
- Environmental industries have been growing impressively, despite still being in the early stages of development. A number of initiatives have been introduced in recent years to encourage energy efficiency in buildings, home appliances and transport.
- Hong Kong’s unique position as a gateway to China continues to be crucial and the Government intends to further strengthen co-operation with the Mainland.
Although the challenges of inflation in Hong Kong, the possibility of a local property bubble and the continuing sovereign debt problem in the Eurozone were also described, the overall message was clearly upbeat – vastly more so than many other world economies where ongoing shrinkage in construction activity and rising unemployment indicates continuing economic gloom.
With offices in Hong Kong and the UK, Maxim Recruitment is well placed to offer a valuable service to construction and engineering employers in Hong Kong as well as to local Hong Kong nationals and expatriates seeking construction jobs in Hong Kong.
Full details of the 2011/12 Hong Kong budget can be read here.
The Section on Hong Kong “Investing in Infrastructure” can be found here.
28/2/2011