Financial results for the four months ended July 31, 2015
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     The Government announced today (August 31) its financial results for the four months ended July 31, 2015.

     Expenditure for the period April to July 2015 amounted to HK$141.1 billion and revenue HK$109.4 billion, resulting in a cumulative year-to-date deficit of HK$31.7 billion.

     A government spokesperson said that the cumulative year-to-date deficit for the period 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$796.9 billion as at July 31, 2015.

     More detailed figures are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

TABLE 1.   CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNT (Note 1)

                  Month ended    Four months ended
                 July 31, 2015     July 31, 2015
                ---------------  -----------------
                  HK$ million       HK$ million

Revenue             36,600.2         109,464.3
Expenditure        (41,779.6)       (141,125.5)
                --------------   -----------------
Deficit             (5,179.4)        (31,661.2)
                --------------   -----------------

Financing
 Domestic
  Banking Sector     5,316.2          30,497.5
   (Note 2)
  Non-Banking Sector  (136.8)          1,163.7
 External               -                 -
                --------------   -----------------
Total                5,179.4          31,661.2
                --------------   -----------------

Government Debts as at July 31, 2015 (Note 3)
  HK$1,500 million
Debts Guaranteed by Government as at July 31, 2015 (Note 4)
  HK$47,684.7 million

TABLE 2.   FISCAL RESERVES

                  Month ended    Four months ended
                 July 31, 2015     July 31, 2015
                ---------------  -----------------
                   HK$ million      HK$ million

Fiscal Reserves      802,032.3        828,514.1
at start of period

Consolidated Deficit  (5,179.4)       (31,661.2)
                 --------------  -----------------
Fiscal Reserves      796,852.9        796,852.9
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 July 31, 2015 was HK$115,890 million.

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

3. These were the outstanding institutional notes as at July 31, 2015, which were denominated in Hong Kong dollars with maturity in July 2019. They do not include the outstanding bonds with nominal value of HK$93,200 million and alternative bonds with nominal value of US$2,000 million (equivalent to HK$15,506 million as at July 31, 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$28,000 million will mature within the period from August 2015 to July 2016 and the rest within the period from August 2016 to July 2030.

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/Monday, August 31, 2015
Issued at HKT 16:31

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