‘Restaurants may not benefit from e-voucher release’

A spokesman for the restaurant trade on Wednesday said he is concerned the sector will not benefit from the latest round of consumptions vouchers, as Covid-19 restrictions on eateries are still in place.

The first round of e-vouchers – worth $5,000 – will be released on Thursday.

The President of the Hong Kong Federation of Restaurants & Related Trades, Simon Wong, said eateries took a third of the share of the vouchers last year, accounting for about HK$12 billion.

But with restaurants currently only allowed to seat two people per table, and with dine-in not allowed after 6pm, Wong expected that figure to fall.

“This time, I assume that because of the social distancing measures, we can only get about 15 percent of the share.

“We still have to wait until the second round of the lifting of the social distancing measures,” he said, adding that restaurateurs are hoping there will be an uptick in business during the Easter holiday and next month’s Mother’s Day.

The finance chief Paul Chan announced in his budget that the administration would distribute HK$10,000 worth of electronic consumption vouchers to 6.3 million eligible residents via the electronic payment system that they’d chosen – Octopus, Tap & Go, AlipayHK or WeChat Pay HK.

While he hoped the consumption vouchers could provide some relief for residents, Chan said bringing the coronavirus outbreak under control quickly was the most effective way to protect the economy and people’s livelihood.