Nation Records Highest Budget Surplus In Years
By Azlan Othman

Bandar Seri Begawan - Escalating oil prices which hit around US$55 per barrel in the second quarter this year pushed the country's budget surplus to a record high in recent years, the Treasury Department of the Ministry of Finance figure revealed.

Brunei posted a budget surplus of $852.56 million in the second quarter of this year, compared to a surplus of $74.11 million in the first quarter.

This was partly due to the increase in the world's price of oil and partly due to the decline in total expenditure, according to the data revealed in the latest issue of the Brunei's Economic Bulletin.

The budget surplus was estimated to be $323.2 million (Q4 2004), $536.1 million (Q3 2004), $485.99 million (Q2 2004), $128.4 million (Q12004) and $206.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2003.

The government's revenue rose from $1,637.28 million in the first quarter of 2005 to $1,763.42 million in the second quarter. This was mainly attributed to the increase in receipts from the oil sector from $1,516.64 million in QI to $1,586.05 million in Q2.

The tax revenue from Oil and Gas production companies continued to dominate over the non-tax receipts that is royalties and dividends. Some 58.5 per cent of the total revenue came from taxes on Oil and Gas. The remaining 41.2 per cent came from non-tax receipts.

Taxes on international trade made up only 1.5 per cent of the total revenue. In the second quarter of 2005, revenue from these taxes increased by 14.5 per cent from the previous quarter, due to the increase in motor vehicles.

Meanwhile, the government expenditure in the second quarter of 2005 was recorded at $910.86 million, against $1,563.17 million in the previous quarter.

This level of government spending was roughly similar to that recorded in the same quarter last year.

In Q2 2005, the level of current expenditure was recorded at $734.14 million, against $1,242.03 million in Q 12005. Wages and salaries contributed the largest with $342.18.

The level of current expenditure was also lower compared with the same quarter last year. But the most significant decline was recorded in the `charged expenditure' component.

The level of capital expenditure was also lower - from $321.14 million in Q12005 to $176.72 million in Q2 2005. The development expenditure component meanwhile fell from $108.22 million in Q1 2005 to $76.20 million in Q2 2005.  -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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