The Treasury Branch, Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau : Working Group on Long-Term Fiscal Planning

The Financial Secretary announced in the 2013-14 Budget Speech to set up a working group to explore ways to make more comprehensive planning for Hong Kong's public finances to cope with the ageing population and the Government's other long-term commitments.

The Working Group on Long-Term Fiscal Planning, led by the Permanent Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Treasury), was set up in June 2013. The Working Group comprises government officials and non-official members who are scholars and experts with vast experience and rich knowledge in their professions/sectors such as economics, accountancy, financial services and actuary services. The then membership of the Working Group is as follows:

Chairperson
Ms Elizabeth Tse	Permanent Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Treasury)
Non-official Members
Professor Liu Pak-wai	Research Professor Institute of Global Economics and Finance The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Professor Francis Lui	Professor of Economics and Director of Center for Economic Development The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Mr Mark Saunders	Group Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer AIA Group Limited
Mrs Jennifer Wong	Former Partner KPMG
Mr Marcellus Wong	Senior Adviser PricewaterhouseCoopers
Ex-officio Members
Mr Martin Siu	Director of Accounting Services
Mrs Helen Chan	Government Economist
Ms Esther Leung	Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Treasury)1
Secretary
Ms Susanna Cheung	Principal Assistant Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Treasury)(H)

Chairperson

Ms Elizabeth Tse

Permanent Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Treasury)

Non-official Members

Professor Liu Pak-wai

Research Professor
Institute of Global Economics and Finance
The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Professor Francis Lui

Professor of Economics and Director of Center for Economic Development
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology

Mr Mark Saunders

Group Chief Strategy and Corporate Development Officer
AIA Group Limited

Mrs Jennifer Wong

Former Partner
KPMG

Mr Marcellus Wong

Senior Adviser
PricewaterhouseCoopers

Ex-officio Members

Mr Martin Siu

Director of Accounting Services

Mrs Helen Chan

Government Economist

Ms Esther Leung

Deputy Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Treasury)1

Secretary

Ms Susanna Cheung

Principal Assistant Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Treasury)(H)

The academic qualifications/professional qualifications/professional experience of the members of the Working Group are available This link will open in a new windowhere PDF file .

The objective of the Working Group is to assess, under existing policies, the long-term public expenditure needs and changes in government revenue, and to propose feasible measures with reference to overseas experience.

The Working Group has completed a fiscal sustainability appraisal on the public finances in Hong Kong and released its report on 3 March 2014. The report can be downloaded here.

A tool to illustrate various projections under different macroeconomic assumptions and expenditure scenarios is available here.

Similar studies overseas for reference

Other economies and some international organisations have also conducted similar studies on fiscal sustainability on public finances, examples are:

The 2010 intergenerational report, The Treasury, Australian Government
http://archive.treasury.gov.au/igr/igr2010/

Economic and Fiscal Implications of Canada’s Aging Population, Department of Finance, Canada
https://www.fin.gc.ca/pub/eficap-rebvpc/index-eng.asp

Third Report on the Sustainability of Public Finances, Federal Ministry of Finance, Germany
http://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/EN/Standardartikel/Service/Publications/Brochures/2011-10-31-third-report-sustainability-of-public-finances.html

Ageing and the sustainability of Dutch public finances, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis, Netherlands
http://www.cpb.nl/en/publication/ageing-and-sustainability-dutch-public-finances

Challenges and Choices: New Zealand’s Long-term Fiscal Statement, The Treasury, New Zealand
http://www.treasury.govt.nz/government/longterm/fiscalposition/2009

Long-term Perspectives on the Norwegian Economy 2013, Ministry of Finance, Norway
http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/fin/Documents-and-publications/propositions-and-reports/Reports-to-the-Storting/2012-2013/meld-st-12-2012-2013.html?id=726741

From the Budget Bill for 2008: Sweden’s Economy, Ministry of Finance, Sweden
http://www.government.se/sb/d/574/a/89673

2012 Report on the Long-Term Sustainability of Public Finances in Switzerland, Federal Department of Finance, Switzerland
http://www.efd.admin.ch/dokumentation/00737/00782/02444/?lang=en

Fiscal sustainability report – July 2013, Office for Budget Responsibility, the UK
http://budgetresponsibility.org.uk/fiscal-sustainability-report-july-2013/

The Federal Government’s Long-Term Fiscal Outlook, United States Government Accountability Office, US
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13-148SP

Report on Public finances in EMU 2013, European Commission
http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/european_economy/2013/public-finances-in-emu-2013_en.htm

International Monetary Fund (IMF)
http://www.imf.org/external/index.htm

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
http://www.oecd.org/