Financial results for nine months ended 31.12.00

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The Government announced today (January 31) its financial results for the nine months ended December 31, 2000.

Expenditure for the period April to December 2000 amounted to $162.7 billion and revenue to $132.5 billion, resulting in a deficit of $30.2 billion.

A Government spokesman said that revenue would pick up in the final quarter of the year as roughly 80% of Salaries Tax was collected in the three months from January to March. An up-to-date assessment of the likely deficit for the current financial year will be provided by the Financial Secretary in his Budget Speech on March 7, 2001.

The fiscal reserves stood at $414.1 billion at December 31, 2000.

More detailed figures are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

TABLE 1.   CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNT

                                            Year to date

                            Month ended     April 1 to

                            Dec 31, 2000    Dec 31, 2000

                            ------------    -------------

                            HK $ million    HK $ million



Revenue                       17,350.5        132,534.0

Expenditure                  (18,847.7)      (162,736.1)

                             ----------      -----------

Deficit                       (1,497.2)       (30,202.1)

                             ----------      -----------

Financing

   Domestic

     Banking Sector(Note 1)    1,268.4         29,020.3

     Non-Bank Sector             228.8          1,181.8

   External                       --               --

                               -------         --------

Total:                         1,497.2         30,202.1

Government Debt as at December 31, 2000(Note 2): NIL

Debts Guaranteed by Government as at December 31, 2000(Note 3): HK$4,755 million

Notes:

1. Includes transactions with the Exchange Fund and resident banks.

2. The Government is debt free.

3. Guarantees provided under the Special Finance Scheme for Small and Medium Enterprises.

TABLE 2.     FISCAL RESERVES

                                             Year to date

                           Month ended        April 1 to

                           Dec 31, 2000      Dec 31, 2000

                           ------------      -------------

                           HK $ million       HK $ million



Fiscal Reserves at 

start of period              415,549.2          444,254.1

Add: Consolidated Deficit     (1,497.2)         (30,202.1)

                             ----------         ----------



Fiscal Reserves at end

of period                    414,052.0          414,052.0

                             =========          =========

End/Wednesday, January 31, 2001

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