China's fiscal revenues rise 4.7% in third-quarter as economy gains steam

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's fiscal revenues grew 4.7% in the third quarter from a year earlier, reversing a 7.4% drop in the previous quarter, the finance ministry said on Wednesday, as the country's economic recovery picked up pace.

China's economy in the July to September quarter expanded by 4.9% from a year earlier, weaker than analyst expectations but faster than the second quarter's 3.2% growth.

For the first nine months of the year, fiscal revenues fell 6.4% from a year earlier to 14.10 trillion yuan ($2.12 trillion), while fiscal expenditures dropped 1.9% to 17.519 trillion yuan, the ministry said.

Liu Jinyun, a finance ministry official, told a briefing that tax receipts could get a boost from China's continued economic rebound in the fourth quarter.

"The decline in accumulative fiscal revenues will gradually moderate," he said.

The government is on track to cut taxes and fees by more than 2.5 trillion yuan in 2020, including 1.88 trillion yuan in the first eight months, the ministry said.

China has allocated 200 billion yuan in local government special bonds to help resolve risks at small banks, Wang Kebing, a second finance ministry official, told the briefing.

In July, China's cabinet said it would allow local governments to use part of the money they raise from special bonds this year to recapitalise some small banks.

China's local governments will be allowed to issue 3.75 trillion yuan in special bonds this year, up from 2.15 trillion yuan in 2019.

($1 = 6.6553 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Kevin Yao, Writing by Gabriel Crossley; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa and Christian Schmollinger)