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Overall financial position 1996-97
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The Financial Secretary, Mr Donald Tsang, expects that the Government will see a surplus in 1996-97 of $1.6 billion.
"This is lower than my predecessor forecast in his 1995 Budget. Nevertheless, as he predicted, we will have drawn on our reserves only in 1995-96 when our investment in the Airport Core Programme has been at a peak.
"In 1996-97, we will see a return to a surplus, albeit a very modest one." Mr Tsang said.
End
Healthy surpluses forecast
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The Financial Secretary, Mr Donald Tsang, envisages that the future Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government will enjoy substantial surpluses throughout the remainder of the Medium Range Forecast (MRF) period.
It will benefit from the retention of the full proceeds from land premia and the collection of rents from the extension of the New Territories leases.
The Medium Range Forecast of revenue and expenditure over the next four years was published in the Financial Secretary's Budget Speech at the Legislative Council today (Wednesday).
Mr Tsang said the fiscal reserves at March 31, 1997, three months before the change of sovereignty, were expected to stand at a healthy $150 billion.
In March 2000, total reserves including the SAR Government Land Fund are forecast to be in excess of $365 billion.
In presenting these figures, the Financial Secretary pointed out that one of the probable calls on these funds would be the need for capital injections into the KCRC and perhaps the MTRC towards the cost of the priority railway development projects.