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The Government announced today (May 29) its financial results for April 2015, the first month of the current financial year.
Expenditure for the first month amounted to HK$34.7 billion and revenue HK$33 billion, resulting in a deficit of HK$1.7 billion.
A government spokesperson said that the deficit in April was mainly because some major types of revenue including salaries and profits taxes were mostly received towards the end of a financial year.
The fiscal reserves stood at HK$826.8 billion as at April 30, 2015.
More detailed figures are shown in Tables 1 and 2.
TABLE 1. CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNT (Note 1)
Month ended
April 30, 2015
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HK$ million
Revenue 33,023.1
Expenditure (34,730.8)
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Deficit (1,707.7)
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Financing
Domestic
Banking Sector 1,033.5
(Note 2)
Non-Banking Sector 674.2
External -
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Total 1,707.7
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Government Debts as at April 30, 2015 (Note 3)
HK$1,500 million
Debts Guaranteed by Government as at April 30, 2015 (Note 4)
HK$54,402.9 million
TABLE 2. FISCAL RESERVES
Month ended
April 30, 2015
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HK$ million
Fiscal Reserves 828,514.1
at start of period
Consolidated Deficit (1,707.7)
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Fiscal Reserves 826,806.4
at end of period
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Notes:
1. This Account consolidates the General Revenue Account and the following eight Funds: Capital Works Reserve Fund, Capital Investment Fund, Civil Service Pension Reserve Fund, Disaster Relief Fund, Innovation and Technology Fund, Land Fund, Loan Fund and Lotteries Fund. It excludes the Bond Fund, the balance of which is not part of the fiscal reserves. The Bond Fund balance as at April 30, 2015 was HK$123,228 million.
2. Includes transactions with the Exchange Fund and resident banks.
3. These were the outstanding institutional notes as at April 30, 2015, which were denominated in Hong Kong dollars and will mature in July 2019. They do not include the outstanding bonds with nominal value of HK$107,600 million and alternative bonds with nominal value of US$1,000 million (equivalent to HK$7,751 million as at April 30, 2015) issued under the Government Bond Programme (with proceeds credited to the Bond Fund). Of these bonds under the Government Bond Programme, bonds with nominal value of HK$6,500 million were repaid on May 11, 2015; bonds with nominal value of HK$21,500 million will mature within the period from June 2015 to April 2016 and the rest within the period from May 2016 to August 2024.
4. Includes guarantees provided under the SME Loan Guarantee Scheme launched in 2001, the Special Loan Guarantee Scheme launched in 2008, the Special Concessionary Measures under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme launched in 2012, a commercial loan of the Ocean Park Corporation and a commercial loan of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation.
Ends/Friday, May 29, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:30
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