Speaking on RTHK's Letter to Hong Kong, Mr Tsang said the budget had been quite well received by the community, although it couldn't please everyone.

He said Hong Kong was different from other places, and the administration had to adhere to the Basic Law provision on the need for a balanced budget.

Mr Tsang said: "We cannot and should not ignore these tried and trusted tenets, and while they may constrain the nature of budget-making, they also have their rewards."

Mr Tsang said it was the government's approach to return wealth to the people when there were extra resources.

He said he had increased total recurrent spending to help different sectors of the community, and there would be plenty of money for the next administration.