The finance chief on Sunday said there is no need for concern after the latest offering of retail infrastructure bonds, totalling HK$20 billion, fell short of its target.

Around 128,000 investors signed up for the bonds during the offering period that ended on Friday, with the final issuance size expected to be around HK$17.8 billion.

On a Commercial Radio programme on Sunday, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said people should not worry about the undersubscription of the latest round of bonds.

"Institutional investors have oversubscribed for the bonds by three or four times, so we don't have to worry about the amount raised from bonds this year," he said.

"Currently there are many investment options. We can also see that in future, many high-quality companies will come to Hong Kong to list, so the investment market will be vibrant."

The government previously told lawmakers that it had doubled its estimated deficit for the current financial year to around HK$100 billion, from its forecast of a little more than HK$48 billion announced in February's budget.

Chan said it might take some time for the government to achieve a fiscal balance, but cautioned the process should not be done too quickly.

"We believe it will take several years to achieve a fiscal balance," he said.

"We've spoken to credit rating agencies and they agreed that major economies have been experiencing financial deficits during the pandemic. They're against achieving a fiscal balance aggressively and within a short period of time, such as one or two years, by significantly cutting spending. This would not only hurt people's livelihoods, but would also cause the economy to contract, which is counterproductive."

Separately, the finance chief said on his weekly blog that the government is committed to coordinating different mega events to "achieve maximum synergy".

Over the past two weeks, Hong Kong has held a number of fashion and design events.

Chan said designers and entrepreneurs from all over the world that have come to Hong Kong for large-scale international arts and culture galas "highly recognised" the capability of the SAR in curating and coordinating such events.

He added these events allowed people in the arts and creative industries to more easily reach out to potential partners.