DistantNews
Support us
🇹🇼 Taiwan /Economy & Trade

Kaohsiung debt: Public debt down, but self-liquidating debt surges

From Liberty Times · () Chinese

Translated from Chinese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • Kaohsiung City's public debt has decreased by 24.4 billion NT dollars over five years, showing some success in debt reduction.
  • However, self-liquidating debt, which is not subject to debt limits, has surged by 42.6 billion NT dollars in the same period.
  • The increase in self-liquidating debt is primarily concentrated in special funds, such as those for mass transit system land development, raising concerns about debt management.

Kaohsiung City has made some headway in reducing its public debt, with outstanding balances within debt limits falling to a five-year low. According to the latest audit report, the city's public debt decreased by over 24.4 billion NT dollars between the end of 2021 and the end of 2026, reaching approximately 224.3 billion NT dollars.

The overall debt reduction has achieved some results.

— Audit BureauThe Audit Bureau commented on the city's public debt figures.

Despite this reduction, the city's self-liquidating debt, which is not counted towards official debt limits, has seen a significant increase. This category of debt has grown by over 42.6 billion NT dollars over the same five-year period, reaching nearly 86.3 billion NT dollars by the end of 2026. The rise is largely driven by increases in non-operating special funds, which have grown by over 43.1 billion NT dollars, while ordinary funds saw a slight decrease.

Self-liquidating debt is showing an increasing trend.

— Audit BureauThe Audit Bureau highlighted the rise in Kaohsiung's self-liquidating debt.

The majority of this escalating self-liquidating debt is concentrated in funds related to mass transit system land development, including projects like the Kaohsiung MRT Yellow Line. The audit office noted that while the city government has implemented measures to accelerate development through land and transit projects, the self-liquidating revenue for some of these projects has not met expectations. This gap between financial projections and actual execution indicates a need to strengthen debt management and control mechanisms.

Self-liquidating debt management and control mechanisms still need to be strengthened.

— Audit BureauThe Audit Bureau pointed out areas for improvement in Kaohsiung's financial management.

In response, Kaohsiung's Finance Bureau stated that all self-liquidating debts are handled in accordance with regulations. They emphasized that plans are reviewed and assessed by the Public Debt Committee for their revenue-generating potential. The bureau also confirmed that the execution status and benefits of these plans are reported to the Ministry of Finance every six months and pledged to continue rigorous control over self-liquidating debt.

Self-liquidating debts are handled in accordance with regulations.

— Kaohsiung City Finance BureauThe Finance Bureau responded to the audit findings regarding self-liquidating debt.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Liberty Times in Chinese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog