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The Government announced today (March 28) its financial results for the eleven months ended February 28, 2002.

Expenditure for the period April 2001 to February 2002 amounted to $214 billion and revenue to $164.3 billion, resulting in a deficit of $49.7 billion.

A Government spokesman said that the deficit for the year ending March 31, 2002 would likely be larger than the deficit at the end of February 2002. This was because the Government expected, during March 2002, expenditure to be incurred to greatly exceed revenue to be collected. The main reason for this is that minimal revenue is anticipated from investment income of fiscal reserves for the year of 2001 which will be credited into the Government accounts in the month of March 2002. In the past, revenue from this source helped to reduce deficit, if any, for that financial year.

The fiscal reserves stood at $380.6 billion at February 28, 2002.

More detailed figures are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

 
 TABLE 1.  CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNT
 
                                             Year to date
                 Month ended             April 1, 2001 to 
                 February 28, 2002       February 28, 2002
                 -----------------       -----------------
                     HK$ million             HK$ million
 Revenue               9,572.5                 164,291.0
 Expenditure         (18,737.3)               (213,996.1)
 
 Deficit              (9,164.8)                (49,705.1)
 
 Financing
   Domestic
    Banking Sector     9,034.7                 49,059.0
      (Note 1)
    Non-Bank Sector      130.1                    646.1
   External                -                        -
 
 Total                 9,164.8                 49,705.1
 
 Government Debt as at                         NIL 
   February 28, 2002 (Note 2)
 Debts Guaranteed by Government            HK$2,329 million
   as at February 28, 2002 (Note 3)
 
 

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, the Self-employment Business Start-up Assistance Scheme and the SME Business Installations and Equipment Loan Guarantee Scheme.

 
 TABLE 2.  FISCAL RESERVES
 
                                             Year to date
                   Month ended             April 1, 2001 to
                  February 28, 2002       February 28, 2002
                  -----------------       -----------------
                     HK$ million             HK$ million
 Fiscal Reserves       389,737.4               430,277.7
   at start of period
 Add : Consolidated    (9,164.8)               (49,705.1)
          Deficit
 
 Fiscal Reserves at    380,572.6               380,572.6
   end of period 
 

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