The Government announced on 18 March 2022 that a new round of the Employment Support Scheme (ESS) would be launched. It is expected to spend between $26 billion and $31 billion, benefiting 1.1 million to 1.3 million employees. Application period is targeted to begin in April 2022.

The 2022 ESS aims to enable Hong Kong's economy to recover swiftly from the fifth wave of the pandemic and regain quickly its momentum once the pandemic subsides. In the light of the experience of the first round of the ESS in 2020 and taking into account the opinions and responses of the community, the Government will be more focused on supporting industries directly or indirectly affected by the fifth wave of the pandemic, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The key features of the 2022 ESS are as follows:

1. The government will provide a three-month wage subsidy covering the period of May, June and July 2022 to eligible employers. The subsidy will be paid directly to the employers.
2. Only employees earning less than $30,000 each month will be eligible for the wage subsidy. Wage subsidy for each full-time employee each month is $8,000.
3. Employers may propose the number of subsidised employees to better suit their actual operational needs. The Government tentatively proposes an upper limit on the number of beneficiary employees by making reference to the data of the previous round. For example, if the total number of subsidised employees of the enterprise was 1,000 in the 2020 ESS, this would become the upper limit on the number of beneficiary employees of the same enterprise in the 2022 ESS. The Government would consider whether it should impose an upper limit on the number of subsidised employees for all employers, so that the government resources can be more evenly distributed and will not be concentrated in large enterprises.
4. Employers are required to employ not less than the number of subsidised employees approved in their applications within the three-month subsidy period. The wage subsidy of $8,000 must be spent on employees only. The Government will ensure that the wage subsidy is fully used to pay the wages of each subsidised employee and cannot be allocated by the employers themselves.
5. The new round of ESS will exclude industries that are not adversely affected by the pandemic, such as large supermarket chains, large pharmacies, property management companies, banks, financial institutions, express delivery companies, and telecommunications companies. For the preliminary additional exclusion list of the 2022 ESS, please visit https://gia.info.gov.hk/general/202203/18/P2022031800417_389430_1_1647592115520.pdf (in Chinese only).
6. The Government encourages employers to continue to employ the elderly aged over 65 and will provide appropriate subsidies to relevant employers.

SUCCESS Activities

In order to reduce the risk of the spread of COVID-19 in the community, SUCCESS has been closed from 4 February 2022 until further notice. Online services including webinars, Customer Hotline (Tel.: (852) 2398 5133) and Email Enquiry (success@tid.gov.hk) will continue to be provided as usual.

Trade and Industry Department / SUCCESS-supported Activities

Webinar: “Anti-pandemic Support for SMEs Series – Applying Government Funding and Banking Solutions for Business Expansion and Transformation”
(This webinar will be live-streamed on 24 March 2022)

This webinar is organised by the Federation of Hong Kong Industries. SUCCESS is one of the supporting organisations. In this webinar, speakers will introduce the government funding schemes and enhancement measures, SME financing solutions and solutions to enhance operational efficiency for enterprises. (This webinar will be conducted in Cantonese.)

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Activities of the SME Service Centres

SME Service Centres' "4-in-1" Seminar Series

The Government consolidated the services of the four SME Centres in October 2019 (SUCCESS of the Trade and Industry Department (TID), the SME Centre of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), SME One of the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) and TecONE of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) to provide “4-in-1” integrated services. The four Centres are co-organising two rounds of “4-in-1” seminar series in the first half of 2022 on “Government Funding Schemes” and “Exploring Mainland Market” respectively.

The seminar series on “Government Funding Schemes” will share a range of government funding schemes alongside successful case stories with a view to helping SMEs upgrade their businesses and enhance competitiveness. Together with Hong Kong Federation of Innovative Technologies and Manufacturing Industries (FITMI), Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) and industry experts, the webinar on “Re-industrialisation is the Key to Success for “Made in HK” Brands”” will be held on 31 March 2022 to introduce the updated information and application tips of the Re-Industralisation Funding Scheme (RFS). Successful cases would also be shared. Interested persons are welcome to register at the link below. Admission is Free.

I. Webinar on “Re-industrialisation is the Key to Success for “Made in HK” Brands”
(The webinar will be held by SME ReachOut on 31 March 2022)

Together with FITMI, representative of the funding scheme and industry experts, this webinar will equip SMEs with the updated information and application tips of the Re-industrialisation Funding Scheme. Successful cases will also be shared for SMEs to get prepared for the “Era of Smart Manufacturing” in Hong Kong. (The webinar will be conducted in Cantonese.)

Please click here for details and registration.

Promotional Flyer

In view of the cash-flow pressure of SMEs, SUCCESS has compiled a summary of support measures relating to liquidity.

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SME ReachOut

Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales (BUD Fund)

The Trade and Industry Department (TID) rolled out enhancement to the BUD Fund on 14 February 2022.

To further support enterprises in developing more diversified markets, effective from 14 February 2022, the geographical scope of the BUD Fund has been extended to 13 economies with which Hong Kong has signed Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements (IPPAs), including Austria, Belgo-Luxembourg Economic Union, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. Currently, the geographical scope of the BUD Fund covers a total of 35 economiesnote 1.

The geographical scope of the BUD Fund is being extended in phases since July 2021 to cover all economies with which Hong Kong has signed Free Trade Agreements and/or IPPAs. The final phase, with the geographical scope to be further extended to Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, will be implemented in the second quarter of 2022.

Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) as the BUD Fund Implementer regularly organises seminars/webinars in order to enhance enterprises’ understanding of the BUD Fund. For more details of the BUD Fund, please visit its website (https://www.bud.hkpc.org/en) or contact HKPC at 2788 6088.

note 1The 35 economies currently covered under the BUD Fund include the Mainland, New Zealand, the four member states of the European Free Trade Association (i.e. Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland), Chile, Macao, the ten member states of the ASEAN (comprising Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), Georgia, Australia, Japan, Korea, Austria, Belgo-Luxembourg Economic Union, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Corruption Prevention Advisory Service (CPAS) of ICAC