According to the statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, the proportion of international business in the local banking sector increased in the first quarter of 2014. At end-March 2014, the share of international assets in total banking assets advanced to 86.8% from 85.3% at end-2013, while the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilities expanded to 82.1% from 80.8%.

Foreign currencies were the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-March 2014, the shares of Pataca (MOP) in total international assets and total international liabilities were 0.8% and 2.0% respectively. Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) and Other Foreign Currencies (OFCs) accounted for 36.0% and 63.2% of total international assets as well as 43.1% and 54.9% of total international liabilities respectively.

International Banking Assets

At end-March 2014, total international assets grew by 10.3% from a quarter ago or 28.9% from a year earlier to MOP930.7 billion (USD116.5 billion). Within this total, external assets increased by 25.3% year-on-year to MOP713.3 billion while local assets in foreign currencies jumped by 42.5% to MOP217.5 billion. As a major component of international assets, external loans & deposits advanced by 24.9% to MOP662.2 billion.

International Banking Liabilities

Total international liabilities increased by 10.0% from three months ago or 27.1% year-on-year to MOP879.7 billion (USD110.1 billion). Of this total, external liabilities and local liabilities in foreign currencies grew year-on-year by 28.9% to MOP450.1 billion and 25.3% to MOP429.6 billion respectively. Foreign currency deposits held by residents and the MSAR government continued to form a major component of international liabilities. This type of deposits grew by 23.6% to MOP399.5 billion at end-March 2014 from MOP323.2 billion at end-March 2013.

Breakdown of External Banking Assets and Liabilities by Region

The majority of external assets and liabilities were related to the regions of Asia and Europe. At end-March 2014, claims on Mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore occupied 35.8%, 29.9% and 2.2% of total external assets correspondingly, while claims on Portugal, Luxembourg and Germany took up 8.7%, 1.5% and 1.0% respectively. On external liabilities, Hong Kong, Mainland China and Thailand accounted for 43.9%, 20.2% and 7.8% of the total respectively while Germany, France and Portugal took up respective shares of 5.4%, 4.0% and 3.8%.

The compilation of International Banking Statistics follows the methodology advocated by the Bank for International Settlements in order to facilitate Macao SAR’s participation in the “Locational International Banking Statistics” project of the international organisation.