Hong Kong retailers host 93,000 applications for Covid-19 support

The Hong Kong government has nearly completed vetting Covid-19 support applications under its Retail Sector Subsidy Scheme, which drew around 93,000 applications.

Applicants are being gradually notified of results, with about 66,000 having already been contacted, two-thirds of which were successful. The remaining applications are currently under processing with around 10,000 required to submit further information or documents to determine whether they are eligible for the scheme.

The scheme has thus far approved roughly HKD3.5 billion (US$451.5 million) in Covid-19 support for eligible retailers. The majority of unsuccessful cases involved businesses not explicitly engaged in retail, while some applications were duplicates.

The government anticipates that more than 60,000 applications will eventually be approved under the scheme, broadly in line with the number of establishments in the retail sector as estimated by its Census and Statistics Department.