HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s government yesterday said it will give a HK$10,000 (US$1,280) handout to seven million permanent residents in a bid to jump-start a recession-hit economy now compounded by the coronavirus outbreak.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan unveiled the cash gift in an annual budget, committing a colossal HK$120 billion to help alleviate the worst economic downtown the international financial hub has faced in a decade.