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There was already an Industrial Support Fund, and he believed the time has come to set up a parallel Services Support Fund with an initial allocation of $50 million.

There was also a good case for providing additional funds to the Hong Kong Tourist Association to help it implement the visitor and tourist strategy.

"I therefore propose to make a one-off grant of $50 million to the Association to set up a Tourism Development Fund for the purpose," said Mr Tsang.

End

Mortgage corporation for housing under study

The Financial Secretary, Mr Donald Tsang, said today (Wednesday) that in housing finance there is a strong case for establishing a mortgage corporation.

Presenting his Budget in the Legislative Council, Mr Tsang said that improving the efficiency and reducing the risks in financial intermediation was one of the Government's core strategies in promoting the financial services sector.

He said a mortgage corporation would offer the following benefits:

it will reduce the concentration and liquidity risks of mortgage lending by banks;

it will increase the availability of mortgage funds to home buyers and widen their choice of mortgage products; and

it will issue high quality securities which help to improve the depth and the liquidity of the local debt market.

Mr Tsang said that while the establishment of a mortgage corporation in Hong Kong would be no simple task, the benefits of such an institution were large enough to warrant further, detailed study.