According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new SME lending approved by Macao banks dropped in the first half of 2012. Concurrently, the utilisation of SME credit in proportion to the credit limit approved by banks recorded a slight contraction. New Lending Approved In the first half of 2012, new SME credit limit approved by Macao banks totalled MOP7.0 billion, down by 58.8% from the second half year of 2011 or 36.1% from the same period last year. The collateralised ratio, which indicates the proportion of credit limit with tangible assets pledged, was 60.4%, down 0.3 percentage points when compared with the last survey period but up by 6.7 percentage points when compared with the same period of 2011. Credit Utilisation As at end-June 2012, the outstanding value of total SME loans dropped 7.3% from end-December 2011 but up 1.8% from a year earlier to MOP31.2 billion. When compared with end-December 2011, SME loans to "electricity, gas and water" and "education" increased at respective rates of 92.0% and 44.2%, whereas those to "transport, warehouse and communications", "non-monetary financial institutions" and "wholesale and retail trade" dropped 72.5%, 19.0% and 18.6% respectively. The utilisation rate, defined as the proportion of outstanding credit balance to the credit limit granted, dropped slightly by 0.6 percentage points from six months ago to 59.2%. Delinquent Loans At the end of June 2012, the outstanding balance of delinquent SME loans decreased by 16.8% from six months ago to MOP428.5 million. Compared to a year ago, the balance dropped slightly by 0.4%. The delinquency ratio, a ratio of delinquent loans outstanding balance to total SME loans outstanding, dropped 0.16 percentage points from end-2011 or 0.03 percentage points from a year earlier to 1.37%.
