HomeFinanceOpinion | Why Hong Kong should make psychological well being a direct financial precedence – Cyber Tech
Opinion | Why Hong Kong should make psychological well being a direct financial precedence – Cyber Tech
March 8, 2026
Hong Kong’s new price range is positioned to foster high-quality, inclusive progress by means of innovation and finance. Forward of projections, a surplus of HK$2.9 billion (US$370.8 million) is now anticipated, largely because of the stronger-than-expected inventory market and tax receipts.
Reflecting a sound fiscal method and ahead considering, the 2026-27 price range will preserve an working surplus and allocate about 60 per cent of recurrent spending to important sectors similar to well being, social welfare and schooling. The introduction of AI+, synthetic intelligence as a instrument for financial reinvention, emphasises the dedication to leveraging expertise for enhanced progress.
With any long-term progress technique, nevertheless, human capital resilience is as crucial as technological funding. As society embraces AI, we have to guarantee its improvement and adoption in our enterprise actions don’t come on the expense of Hong Kong’s psychological wellness – a serious systemic vulnerability.
The lately launched World Psychological Well being Hong Kong Examine discovered that over a tenth of the inhabitants had suffered for no less than a yr from a psychological dysfunction, with anxiousness the commonest. As well as, the newest figures from the Hong Kong Jockey Membership Centre for Suicide Analysis and Prevention put the 2024 suicide charge at 14.1 per 100,000 individuals, larger than in 2023, with a marked rise amongst males aged 25-39, a cohort important for workforce renewal.
Hong Kong’s service capability, nevertheless, presents challenges. Final yr, new non-urgent outpatient psychiatric sufferers needed to wait a median 30-76 weeks for therapy, in line with Hospital Authority knowledge, with some ready 101 weeks – compounding sickness severity, the pressure on households and downstream prices.
Hong Kong must urgently deal with its psychological well being considerations – and there are sturdy financial causes for doing so. The World Well being Group discovered that each US$1 invested in scaled-up therapy for despair and anxiousness yields roughly US$4 in improved well being and productiveness.
04:25
Report surplus prompts Hong Kong authorities to supply tax reduction, sweeteners
Report surplus prompts Hong Kong authorities to supply tax reduction, sweeteners
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