Government Reports HK$115.9 Billion Deficit in Financial Results for April-July 2025.

Government's financial results for four months ended July 31, 2025

The Government announced today (August 29) its financial results for the four months ended July 31, 2025.

Expenditure and revenue from April to July 2025 amounted to HK$253.7 billion and HK$112.3 billion respectively, resulting in a deficit of HK$115.9 billion after taking into account HK$52.2 billion received from issuance of Government Bonds and repayment of HK$26.7 billion principal on Government Bonds.

A Government spokesperson said that the deficit for the period was mainly due to the fact that some major types of revenue including salaries and profits taxes are mostly received towards the end of a financial year.

The fiscal reserves stood at HK$538.4 billion as at July 31, 2025.

Detailed figures are shown in Tables 1 and 2.

TABLE 1. CONSOLIDATED ACCOUNT (Note 1)

Month ended

July 31, 2025

HK$ million

Four months ended

July 31, 2025

HK$ million

Revenue

34,630.0

112,264.7

Expenditure

(63,654.9)

(253,648.3)

Deficit before issuance

and repayment of

Government Bonds

(29,024.9)

(141,383.6)

Proceeds received from

issuance of

Government Bonds

7,066.4

52,182.2

Repayment of

Government Bonds*

(44.2)

(26,720.1)

Deficit after issuance

and repayment of

Government Bonds

(22,002.7)

(115,921.5)

Financing

Domestic

Banking Sector (Note 2)

21,806.1

112,957.7

Non-Banking Sector

196.6

2,963.8

External

-

-

Total

22,002.7

115,921.5

* Being repayment of principal on Government Bonds and does not include the associated interest and other expenses.

Government Debts as at July 31, 2025 (Note 3)

HK$328,747 million

Debts Guaranteed by Government as at July 31, 2025 (Note 4)

HK$119,577 million

TABLE 2. FISCAL RESERVES

Month ended

July 31, 2025

HK$ million

Four months ended

July 31, 2025

HK$ million

Fiscal Reserves at start of period

560,398.0

654,316.8

Consolidated Deficit after

issuance and repayment of

Government Bonds

(22,002.7)

(115,921.5)

Fiscal Reserves at end of period

(Note 5)

538,395.3

538,395.3

Notes:

1. This Account consolidates the General Revenue Account and the following eight Funds: Capital Works Reserve Fund, Capital Investment Fund, Civil Service Pension Reserve Fund, Disaster Relief Fund, Innovation and Technology Fund, Land Fund, Loan Fund and Lotteries Fund. It excludes the Bond Fund, the balance of which is not part of the fiscal reserves. The Bond Fund balance as at July 31, 2025, was HK$216,302 million.

2. Includes transactions with the Exchange Fund and resident banks.

3. The Government Debts, with proceeds credited to the Capital Works Reserve Fund, comprise:

(i) the Green Bonds (equivalent to HK$192,885 million as at July 31, 2025) issued under the Government Sustainable Bond Programme. They were denominated in US dollars (US$10,950 million with maturity from January 2026 to January 2053), euros (5,580 million euros with maturity from February 2026 to November 2041), Renminbi (RMB32,000 million with maturity from February 2026 to July 2054) and Hong Kong dollars (HK$22,000 million with maturity from February 2026 to October 2026);

(ii) the Infrastructure Bonds (equivalent to HK$81,272 million as at July 31, 2025) issued under the Infrastructure Bond Programme. They were denominated in Renminbi (RMB25,750 million with maturity from December 2025 to June 2055) and Hong Kong dollars (HK$53,230 million with maturity from November 2025 to June 2055); and

(iii) the Silver Bonds with nominal value of HK$54,590 million (with maturity in October 2027 and may be redeemed before maturity upon request from bond holders) issued under the Infrastructure Bond Programme.

They do not include the outstanding bonds with nominal value of HK$167,936 million and alternative bonds with nominal value of US$1,000 million (equivalent to HK$7,850 million as at July 31, 2025) issued under the Government Bond Programme with proceeds credited to the Bond Fund. Of these bonds under the Government Bond Programme (including Silver Bonds with nominal value of HK$95,936 million, which may be redeemed before maturity upon request from bond holders), bonds with nominal value of HK$1,500 million were repaid upon maturity on August 15, 2025; bonds with nominal value of HK$65,389 million will mature within the period from September 2025 to July 2026, and the rest within the period from August 2026 to May 2042.

4. Includes guarantees provided under the SME Loan Guarantee Scheme launched in 2001, the Special Loan Guarantee Scheme launched in 2008, the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme launched in 2012, and the Loan Guarantee Scheme for Cross-boundary Passenger Transport Trade, the Loan Guarantee Scheme for Battery Electric Taxis and the Loan Guarantee Scheme for Travel Sector launched in 2023.

5. Includes HK$249,801 million, being the balance of the Land Fund held in the name of "Future Fund", for long-term investments up to December 31, 2030. The Future Fund also includes HK$4,800 million, being one-third of the actual surplus in 2015-16 as top-up.

Source: AI-found images

Companies Registry releases statistics for 2025

According to the statistics released by the Companies Registry today (January 16), a total of 195,343 local companies and re-domiciled companies were newly registered in 2025. By the end of 2025, the total number of local companies and re-domiciled companies registered under the Companies Ordinance increased by 96,609 compared to 2024, reaching 1,557,103, which was an all-time high figure.

In 2025, 1,532 non-Hong Kong companies that had newly established a place of business in Hong Kong were registered under the Companies Ordinance. By the end of 2025, the total number of registered non-Hong Kong companies was 15,586, up 3 per cent compared to 2024.

The company re-domiciliation regime, implemented since May 23, 2025, has received a positive market response. By the end of 2025, the Registry had received over 420 enquiries and 30 applications. Among these, six non-Hong Kong corporations incorporated in Luxembourg, the Cayman Islands or Bermuda, including an insurance company, have been successfully re-domiciled to Hong Kong. The regime provides a simple and cost-effective pathway for non-Hong Kong incorporated companies to re-domicile to Hong Kong by eliminating the need for complicated and costly judicial procedures while preserving a company's legal identity. It ensures seamless business continuity and strengthens the competitiveness of Hong Kong as a global business and financial hub.

In 2025, the number of charges on properties of companies received for registration was 12,912, which was 6.4 per cent up from 12,137 in 2024. The number of notifications of payments and releases received for registration increased by 14.2 per cent, from 18,201 in 2024 to 20,789 in 2025.

In 2025, a total of 180 prospectuses were registered while the figure recorded in 2024 was 157.

In 2025, the total number of documents delivered for registration increased by 7 per cent to 3,360,723, compared to 3,139,906 in 2024.

In 2025, a total of 5,229,202 searches of document image records were conducted using the Registry's electronic search services, an increase of 0.7 per cent from 5,194,865 in 2024.

On the registration of limited partnership funds (LPFs), a total of 389 LPFs were newly registered in 2025. By the end of 2025, the total number of LPFs increased by 35.1 per cent compared to the end of 2024, to 1,347.

For open-ended fund companies (OFCs), 210 OFCs were newly incorporated in 2025. By the end of 2025, the total number of OFCs increased by 43.2 per cent compared to the end of 2024, to 676.

As regards the licensing of trust or company service providers under the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing Ordinance, a total of 760 new licences were granted by the Registry in 2025. By the end of 2025, the total number of licensees was 7,220.

Turning to the licensing of money lenders, 155 new licences were granted by the Licensing Court in 2025. By the end of 2025, the total number of licensed money lenders was 2,015.

For details of the statistics, please visit the "Statistics" section of the Registry's website (www.cr.gov.hk).

Source: AI-found images