INDEPENDENT NEWS

Financial Statements Of The Govt. 8 Months To Feb

Published: Fri 11 Apr 2003 12:13 AM
11 April 2003
MEDIA STATEMENT
For immediate release
Andrew Crisp
Deputy Secretary to the Treasury
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE GOVERNMENT FOR THE EIGHT MONTHS ENDED 28 FEBRUARY 2003
The Financial Statements of the Government of New Zealand for the eight months ended 28 February 2003 were released by the Treasury today. These financial statements have been prepared on the basis of fully consolidating all the revenues, expenses, assets and liabilities of all departments, SOEs and Crown entities. These financial statements are compared against forecasts based on the 2002 December Economic and Fiscal Update (2002 DEFU).
Actual $million Forecast $million Annual Forecast $million
Operating balance (surplus) 2,839 1,920 2,505
OBERAC 3,326 1,920 3,521
Crown balance (net worth) 21,642 20,665 21,231
Gross sovereign-issued debt 37,889 38,248 35,522
Net (core) Crown debt 18,058 18,966 18,582
The operating balance for the eight months ended 28 February was $919 million higher-than-forecast. This was due to:
1. Tax revenue being $619 million higher-than-forecast, reflecting higher-thanforecast source deductions ($267 million) and goods and services tax ($246 million).
2. Total Crown expenses being $526 million lower-than-forecast, including lowerthan- forecast core Crown expenses of $488 million. These factors were offset by
3. Investment revenues being $526 million lower-than-forecast largely, reflecting reductions in the value of financial investments.
The OBERAC for the eight months ended 28 February was $1,406 million higher than forecast. The difference between OBERAC and the operating balance is the removal of the reductions in the value of financial investments and foreign exchange related movements ($487 million) from the OBERAC calculation.
The improvement in net worth against forecast of $977 million was due to the improved operating balance for 2002/03 and some revaluations of physical assets (which as a matter of policy are not forecast).
Gross sovereign-issued debt was $359 million lower than forecast, primarily due to the impact of foreign exchange rate movements.
Net (core) Crown debt was $908 million lower-than-forecast. This was largely due to improved net cash flows from operations ($862 million), delays in purchases of physical assets ($179 million) and additional issue of circulating currency ($67 million). This was partly offset by the effect of the appreciation in the exchange rate and also higher than forecast diversification from government stock by the Government Superannuation Fund.
Net Crown debt was estimated to be 14.3% of GDP at 28 February, compared to a forecast of 15.0%.
These results will be reflected in the 2003 Budget Economic and Fiscal Update to be released on 15 May.
ENDS

Next in Business, Science, and Tech

General Practices Begin Issuing Clause 14 Notices In Relation To The NZNO Primary Practice Pay Equity Claim
By: Genpro
Global Screen Industry Unites For Streaming Platform Regulation And Intellectual Property Protections
By: SPADA
View as: DESKTOP | MOBILE © Scoop Media