2
-
This afternoon I propose to offer a few thoughts on the budget and related issues.
On Course
Hong Kong last enjoyed a budget surplus in 1981-82. In that year land sales revenue amounted to a staggering $8.9 billion. Unfortunately, this was followed by the worst depression since the 1930's. Not surprisingly, Hong Kong was faced with huge deficits for 3 successive years. We must be thankful that as a result of the skilful handling of our public finances and the resilience of the Hong Kong economy, the
deficits have dwindled from $3.5 billion in 1982-83 to the planned deficit of $1 billion for 1985-86. Barring unforeseen circumstances, we should be witnessing a balanced budget in 1986-87. Some have even predicted that we may not be in the red in the coming fiscal year. Judging from our excellent performance during 1984, this may well turn out to be correct.
Undeniably, our disciplined budgetary policies have
paid off and as the Financial Secretary ably put it -
"1984 was the year in which the Hong Kong economy was very largely got back on track. Economic growth increased, inflation fell, unemployment was low, confidence returned
and investment began to recover. All in
all, a welcome contrast to the gloom of 1982, which still persisted into much of 1983."
Estimated Expenditure for 1985-86
At $38.4 billion the estimated expenditure for 1985-86 represents only a moderate increase over the 1984-85 figure of $37.3 billion and the 1983-84 figure of $35.5 billion. This is clear evidence of rigid discipline and increased productivity.