Background: The government has submitted a notice of motion to LegCo under the Public Finance Ordinance to authorize the Financial Secretary to transfer the Bond Fund surplus to general revenue at an appropriate time.
Surplus Size: As of March 31 this year, the Bond Fund has accumulated a surplus of HK$37.7 billion through investment income. This surplus remains after provisioning for all outstanding government bond principal and future coupon payments.
Policy Context: The 2024-25 Budget mentioned that the Government Bond Program will gradually be replaced by the Government Sustainable Bond Program and the Infrastructure Bond Program; since September 2024, the government has ceased issuing new bonds under the Government Bond Program.
Handling Arrangement and Legislative Adjustment: A spokesman for the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau said the Government Bond Program has fulfilled its mission of promoting the development of Hong Kong's bond market. Therefore, this Budget announces that a resolution will be submitted to LegCo to transfer the accumulated Bond Fund surplus to the consolidated account in FY2026/27, instead of waiting until the last batch of government bonds under the program matures in 2042 as originally required by law.
Legislative Procedure: The government will move the relevant resolution in LegCo on the 24th of this month, depending on legislative procedures.
