The Hong Kong government will submit a resolution to raise the borrowing limit for the "Infrastructure Bond Program" and "Government Sustainable Bond Program" to 900 billion Hong Kong dollars.

On March 11, the Hong Kong government announced its intention to increase the borrowing limit for the Infrastructure Reserve Fund under the Loans Ordinance from HK$500 billion to HK$900 billion, including the Infrastructure Bond Program and the Sustainable Bond Program. The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Christopher Hui, stated that the government needs to raise the borrowing limit to HK$900 billion to finance infrastructure projects, including the development of the Northern Metropolis (North Metropolis) and other projects related to economic development and people's livelihoods. The government's capital works expenditure budget for the fiscal year 2025-26 is around HK$125 billion. In the 2025 Policy Address, an additional HK$30 billion was earmarked for the next two to three years to increase capital works expenditure to drive economic development and support the local construction industry. The capital works expenditure for the fiscal year 2026-27 is estimated at around HK$128 billion and is expected to remain at a similar level from the fiscal year 2027-28 to 2030-31. Hui emphasized that issuing government bonds is a public financial management tool. Globally, issuing bonds to support infrastructure development is a common practice. Capital works projects are long-term investments, especially those in the Northern Metropolis. Therefore, the government needs to issue more long-term bonds to match the cash flow period with the funding needs of capital works projects. Increasing the borrowing limit and issuing more long-term bonds can increase net proceeds from bond issuance. During the period from 2026-27 to 2030-31, the Hong Kong government plans to issue around HK$160 billion to HK$220 billion in bonds annually. The ratio of government debt to Gross Domestic Product will increase from 14.4% to 19.9%, which is significantly below most advanced economies and considered a very stable level. The Sustainable Bond Program (formerly known as the Government Green Bond Program) was established in 2018 to promote market development and further solidify Hong Kong's position as a green finance hub. The Infrastructure Bond Program was established in 2024 to manage the cash flow needs of large-scale infrastructure projects and ensure their timely completion. In May 2024, the Legislative Council passed a motion to establish the Infrastructure Bond Program and expand the scope of the Green Bond Program to include sustainable projects, renaming it the Sustainable Bond Program, and increasing the borrowing limit from HK$200 billion to HK$500 billion. In the 2026-27 Budget, the Hong Kong government further announced the increase of the borrowing limit for both programs to HK$900 billion to enhance the financing capacity for capital works projects. Both programs are overseen by supervisory committees chaired by the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong. Depending on the legislative process, the government will move a motion in the Legislative Council on April 1 regarding the resolutions.