Hong Kong has offered almost $10bn in cash handouts to residents to counter the economic fallout of the coronavirus as global concern over the disease dragged Asian markets lower on Wednesday after a renewed sell-off on Wall Street.

In his budget on Wednesday, Paul Chan, Hong Kong finance minister, said his government would award HK$10,000 ($1,280) to permanent residents of the territory whose finances had been hit by the spread of the virus and by last year’s prolonged street protests. China, where the virus began, has already offered cash and free transport to workers in an effort to restart its economy.

“The social incidents in the past months and the novel coronavirus epidemic have dealt a heavy blow to Hong Kong’s economy,” Mr Chan said, referring to anti-government protests. He now expected Hong Kong’s economy to contract by up to 1.5 per cent in 2020.