Government records four-month surplus
The government recorded a consolidated surplus of almost HK$4.8 billion during the first four months of the fiscal year.
The surplus raised Hong Kong's fiscal reserves to HK$374.1 billion as of July 31.
Much of the surplus was due to the HK$30.5 billion the government received for land through public auctions and private treaty grants, a government spokesman said.
From April through July, the government's consolidated account recorded total revenue of HK$78.91 billion and expenditure of HK$74.12 billion. This resulted in a surplus of HK$4.79 billion.
For the month of July, revenue was HK$20.06 billion, slightly more than expenditure, which totalled HK$20.02 billion. July's surplus was HK$41.2 million.
The four-month surplus is behind the government's forecast of a HK$25.4 billion surplus for the year.
But HSBC economist George Leung Siu-kay said it is too early to predict the final number with much accuracy. Government expenditure can be volatile and revenue tends to be realised in December and March.
A major source of revenue is stamp duty levied on stock and property transactions. The value of stock market transactions reached more than HK$4 trillion during the first four months of the fiscal year, yielding stamp duty of about HK$8 billion.
That is roughly double the amount during the same period a year ago, when turnover was over HK$2 trillion and stamp duty totalled about HK$4 billion.
