CYPRUS: Government records â‚¬207.6 mn surplus in first nine months

The central government posted a surplus of €207.6 mn or 1.32% of GDP in the first nine months of the year, compared with a deficit of €411.7 mn or 2.5% of GDP, in the same period last year.

According to figures released by the Ministry of Finance, the primary balance, which excludes the servicing of the public debt, was €601.1 mn between January and September, compared with a surplus of €67.7 mn in the corresponding period of 2013.

The adjustment programme Cyprus has signed with international lenders says the country should record at the end of 2014 a primary deficit of €210 or 1.3% of GDP, a primary deficit of €258 mn or 1.6% of GDP, at the end of 2015 and generate a primary surplus of €201 mn or 1.2% of GDP in 2016.

The data from the Finance Ministry also showed that the revenue increased in the period January – September by 4.47% to €4.73 bn from €4.53 bn, in the same period of 2013.

The expenditure fell by 7.17% to €4.61 bn, from €4.96 bn.

The ministry expects a primary surplus of 0.5% for 2014, as the Finance Minister Harris Georgiades told the MPs on October 17, when he presented before the parliamentary Committee on Budgetary and Financial Affairs, the 2015 budget.