Hong Kong might be able to return to an operating account surplus earlier than expected, due to stamp duty gains from stock trading, Financial Secretary Paul Chan said on Saturday, while pointing to significant infrastructure expenses, such as for the Northern Metropolis.

Speaking on RTHK's "Voices from the Hall", where he was gauging public expectations for his upcoming budget, Chan said authorities had been working to reverse years of deficit.

"We are moving towards our target in terms of expenditure management," he said.

"Owing to the performance of financial markets, we saw an increase in stamp duty income, which will help us return to a fiscal surplus quicker."

However, Chan acknowledged that there would be a deficit in the capital account because of infrastructure development costs.

In response to suggestions from his audience that officials often take reference from Singapore when drawing up policies and measures, Chan said the two places had always learned from each other.

"We don't need to belittle ourselves. We have areas that [Singapore] is drooling over, such as the development of our financial market," he said.

"On the other hand, there are things that [Singapore] does well. In this process, we are open to learning from them," Chan said.

On suggestions for potential cryptocurrency development efforts from someone in the audience, Chan said he had doubts about going all in on digital tokens, pointing to the risks.