Authorities record 60pct surplus drop over past 10 months

The latest statistics from the Financial Services Bureau indicate that the government’s surplus for the first ten months of the year has plummeted by almost 60 percent to MOP34.583 billion from MOP85.855 billion last year.
The major source of the administration’s wealth – tax from the gaming sector – has plunged 35.3 percent to MOP71.378 billion from MOP110.238 billion a year ago. This significantly dragged down last year’s revenue of MOP132 billion to around 91billion this year, suggesting a fall of 31.2 percent.
By contrast, the government spent 21.5 percent more than last year with MOP56.41 billion recorded, which was inclusive of the social security fund of MOP14.262 billion. The administration has spent MOP3.153 billion on investment, compared to last year’s MOP2.168 billion.