Central govt spending down by 110m yuan

Central government departments spent 9.36 billion yuan ($1.47 billion) last year on overseas traveling, receptions and car purchases and maintenance, the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday.

It marks a reduction of 110 million yuan over the sum spent in 2010.

Among the total expenditure, money used for car purchases and maintenance made up nearly two-thirds of the whole cost, totaling 5.9 billion yuan.

The number was revealed in a report by the Ministry of Finance submitted to the top legislature for review on Wednesday.

Minister of Finance Xie Xuren did not reveal a breakdown of the numbers such as how many cars the government owns or other details regarding how the money was used.

The report also said the administrative cost for agencies under the central government and State-funded organizations reached nearly 90 billion yuan, an increase of 1.42 percent over 2010.