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Feb exports value down 0.8%

The value of Hong Kong’s total exports decreased to $284.1 billion in February, down 0.8% on the same month last year, the Census & Statistics Department announced today.   The value of imports of goods fell 1.8% to $325.7 billion for the same period.   A trade deficit of $41.7 billion, or 12.8% of the value of imports, was recorded in February.   Comparing the three-month period ending February with the preceding three months on a seasonally adjusted basis, the value of exports rose 5.5%, while that of imports also increased 3.3%.   The Government noted that taking the first two months of the year together to remove the volatility caused by the difference in timing of the Lunar New Year, the value of exports posted a 16.6% growth against a very low base of comparison a year ago.   Exports to the Mainland and the US rose notably, while those to the European Union fell. Those to other major Asian markets recorded a mixed performance.   Looking ahead, the Gove

2 care fund proposals endorsed

Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung chaired the third meeting of the fourth-term Commission on Poverty held online today, in which two proposals on the Community Care Fund (CCF) were endorsed.   At the meeting, members also noted the implementation progress of various assistance programmes under the fund and its financial position.   One of the endorsed proposals is to further refine the means test mechanism of the CCF Medical Assistance Programmes following the announcement in the 2020 Policy Address.   The refinements, to be rolled out in the second quarter, include modification of the calculation of annual disposable financial resources for recurrent applications and the addition of new allowable deduction items for all drug subsidy applications.   Meanwhile, the validity period of the first application's financial assessment will be extended from 12 months to 18 months if the patient contribution is not more than $2,000. Patients will make the same amount of contribution upon annual renewal of the application without the need for financial assessment.   If patients consider that there is a need for financial reassessment due to the change in financial condition of their households, they could make such a request anytime during the application period.   Additionally, the Hospital Authority will waive the requirement to submit financial documents if the patient has been referred a second application within one to two months after the first application.   The second proposal involves additional funding for the One-off Living Subsidy for Low-income Households Not Living in Public Housing & Not Receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) programme.   The commission earlier endorsed a provision of $2.56 billion under the CCF to introduce two rounds of the subsidy.   Owing to the impact of social unrest and the COVID-19 epidemic, Hong Kong's economy has been deteriorating and the unemployment and underemployment rates remain high. The number of applications for the first round of the subsidy is projected to exceed the estimate by about 20%.   The CCF secretariat estimated that the number of applications received under the second round of the subsidy would increase by 40% compared to the first round.   To cater for the projected additional beneficiary households, the commission endorsed an additional provision of $571.83 million which includes an additional funding of $34.46 million for administrative fees, bringing the total estimated expenditure for the two rounds of the subsidy to about $3.13 billion.   Members were also briefed on the proposed measures to further assist individuals and families in financial need, including the reduction of the Working Family Allowance Scheme's working hour requirements and relaxation of the Short-term Food Assistance Services Project's asset limits, both of which were on a time-limited basis.
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