Financial results for the month ended April 30, 2012
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     The Government announced today (May 31) its financial results for April 2012, the first month of the current financial year.

     Expenditure for the first month amounted to $24.9 billion and revenue $25.4 billion, resulting in a surplus of $0.5 billion.

     A government spokesperson said that the surplus in April was mainly due to the receipt of salaries tax and profits tax.

     The fiscal reserves stood at $669.6 billion as at April 30, 2012.

     More detailed figures are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

TABLE 1.   CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNT (Note 1)

                                Month ended
                              April 30, 2012
                              --------------
                                HK$ million

Revenue                          25,434.3
Expenditure                     (24,961.8)
                              --------------
Surplus                             472.5
                              --------------

Financing
 Domestic
  Banking Sector                 (1,173.5)
   (Note 2)
  Non-Banking Sector                701.0
 External                            -
                              --------------
Total                              (472.5)
                              --------------

Government Debts as at April 30, 2012 (Note 3)
  $11,199.4 million
Debts Guaranteed by Government as at April 30, 2012 (Note 4)
  $69,786.0 million

TABLE 2.   FISCAL RESERVES

                                Month ended
                              April 30, 2012
                              --------------
                                HK$ million

Fiscal Reserves                  669,088.6
at start of period

Consolidated Surplus                 472.5
                              --------------

Fiscal Reserves                  669,561.1
at end of period
                              --------------

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, 2012 is $52,019 million.

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

3. These are the outstanding institutional notes (including US$1.25 billion denominated in United States dollars) as at April 30, 2012, which will mature within the period August 2014 to July 2019. The outstanding bonds of HK$49,500 million issued under the Government Bond Programme (with proceeds credited to the Bond Fund) are excluded. Of these bonds, HK$7,000 million will mature within the period from May 2012 to April 2013 and the rest will mature within the period from May 2013 to August 2021.

4. Includes guarantees provided under the Special Finance Scheme for Small and Medium Enterprises launched in 1998, the SME Loan Guarantee Scheme launched in 2001, the Special Loan Guarantee Scheme launched in 2008, the Film Guarantee Fund and the commercial loan of the Ocean Park Corporation.

Ends/Thursday, May 31, 2012
Issued at HKT 18:04

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