The Hong Kong government must ensure its massive HK$1.8 billion (US$229.8 million) subsidy for diesel to mitigate record-high oil prices for the transport sector is not exploited by fuel companies through discount manipulations, an industry leader and a lawmaker have cautioned.
Their warnings came shortly after authorities announced a two-month, HK$3-per-litre (38 US cents) diesel relief measure on Thursday to cushion the impact on transport companies amid the ongoing Middle East conflict, with the lawmaker calling for a price-monitoring mechanism for oil products to be reviewed.
Lok Ma Chau-Hong Kong Freight Association chairman Stanley Tandon Lal Chaing flagged potential issues in the implementation of the subsidy, ahead of a meeting of the Legislative Council’s Finance Committee on Friday afternoon to scrutinise the proposal.
He explained that independent drivers currently pay up to double the fuel costs compared with large fleets, which enjoyed major discounts through card memberships, creating a deeply unfair market.
“We are very worried about this … because oil companies have different discounts, and the government has no way to monitor how they distribute them,” he said.
“They could eat up part of the HK$3 subsidy by slightly reducing their discounts,” Chaing added.
