The budget deficit for the next financial year in Hong Kong could exceed 7.5 billion HK dollars ( US$968 million), the top financial official of Hong Kong said on Saturday.

But the government will not trim expenditure, said John Tsang, financial secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government when attending a consultation forum on the 2009-10 Budget.

"We believe next year's government income will decrease but we will not cut our expenditure because of that," he said.

"When I did the budget for this financial year I was expecting a deficit of 7.5 billion HK dollars. As we will not spend less, the deficit for the upcoming one will be higher," he said, noting that the government spending will target the needy.

"Our resources are limited, therefore it is not possible to give candies to everyone without differentiation," he said.