$55b Surplus Recorded

The Government recorded a surplus of $55.5 billion in January, with expenditure at $47.4 billion and revenue at $102.8 billion.

Government expenditure for the 10-month period ending January 31 amounted to $667.5 billion, with revenue at $454.2 billion, bringing the cumulative year-to-date deficit to $213.3 billion.

Fiscal reserves stood at $947 billion as at January 31.

The Government said the cumulative year-to-date deficit was mainly due to the payments in respect of various measures under the Anti-epidemic Fund and the Cash Payout Scheme.

Taking into account the forecast revenue and expenditure for the remaining two months, the deficit for the 2020-21 financial year is expected to be $257.6 billion and the fiscal reserves are estimated to be $902.7 billion as at the end of March, the Government added.