Anti-epidemic Fund disbursing subsidies progressively to relevant food business licence holders and licensed hawkers

The Government has established the Food Licence Holders Subsidy Scheme and Licensed Hawkers Subsidy Scheme under the Anti-epidemic Fund to provide financial subsidies to the food business sector and licensed hawkers whose businesses are hard-hit by the COVID-19 epidemic. A spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said today (March 18) that for the first batch of successful applications, the department has been disbursing the subsidies to the licence holders of relevant food business and licensed hawkers progressively since March 11.　
     
Applications for the Food Licence Holders Subsidy Scheme and Licensed Hawkers Subsidy Scheme have started on March 5 and will end on May 4. Since the launch of the schemes two weeks ago, a total of 24,013 and 4,751 applications have been received respectively. As of today (March 18), the total numbers of applications approved together with payment authorised under the two schemes are 7,337 and 2,536 respectively, with subsidies totaling over $1,040 million disbursed to the respective successful applicants. The department will process other applications as soon as possible so as to provide assistance to eligible food licence holders and licensed hawkers promptly.
       
The Food Licence Holders Subsidy Scheme aims to provide financial relief to eight types of food business licence holders. A one-off subsidy of $200,000 will be provided to eligible licence holders of the premises in operation including general restaurants, marine restaurants and factory canteens; and a subsidy of $80,000 will be provided to eligible licence holders of the premises in operation including light refreshment restaurants, fresh provision shops, food factories, bakeries and siu mei and lo mei shops.
     
The Licensed Hawkers Subsidy Scheme will offer a subsidy of $5,000 to each eligible licensee holding of a valid hawker licence, which remains valid when the application is approved. The Subsidy Scheme shall not apply to persons newly issued with a hawker licence under the "2019 Re-allocation of Vacant Fixed Hawker Pitches and Issue of New Licences" exercise.
     
Eligible food licence holders and licensed hawkers who have yet to submit applications can download application forms of the schemes from the FEHD website (www.fehd.gov.hk) or obtain from District Environmental Hygiene Offices of the FEHD. Applicants can submit their applications online, in person or by mail.
     
The department's target is to complete processing work within about two weeks from receiving eligible applications from applicants. After the applications are approved, the subsidies will be sent out by crossed cheques to the corresponding licensed food premises or the correspondence address of licensed hawkers registered with the department.
     
For more details of the schemes, please view the department's website (www.fehd.gov.hk).
 
Ends/Wednesday, March 18, 2020