Thousands of Hong Kong bank employees will receive a return-to-work lai see on Friday, with some banks handing out extra benefits and gifts to their staff amid improving economic and market sentiment.

While it is a Chinese tradition for companies to give their staff lai see on the first working day of the Lunar New Year as a token of appreciation for their hard work, many banks nowadays give their staff lai see and other goodies before the holiday.

Bank of China (Hong Kong) is giving each of its 15,000 staff a HK$500 (US$64) laisee to mark the Year of the Horse, the same as in previous years. However, the bank’s gift hamper this year is bigger, with the number of items increasing to eight from six. The basket consists of mushrooms, morel mushrooms, dried scallops, fish maw, XO sauce, dried conch, pistachios and American ginseng.

HSBC and its subsidiary Hang Seng Bank are also distributing HK$500 to each of their combined staff of nearly 26,000 electronically, amounting to around HK$13 million, the largest payout among Hong Kong banks.

“The Year of the Horse symbolises vitality, speed and success – qualities that perfectly reflect the energy we’re bringing into 2026,” said Maggie Ng, CEO of HSBC Hong Kong, in her new year message to staff. “I’m confident that it’s going to be another exciting year where we will harness our collective strengths to create many opportunities for our customers.”