The government will consider offloading more of its loans to help reduce the budget deficit, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Frederick Ma Si-hang said yesterday.

Mr Ma was speaking after finalising a deal with the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation, to which the government has sold housing loans for civil servants worth $4.8 billion.

After signing an agreement for the sale, Mr Ma said the transfer was the first step in the government's asset-sales programme to reduce the $70 billion budget deficit.