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 2013. At end-March 2013, the share of international assets in total banking assets advanced to 84.2% from 83.4% at end-2012, while the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilities went up to 80.8% from 79.9%. Foreign currencies were the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-March 2013, the shares of Pataca (MOP) in total international assets and total international liabilities were 0.5% and 3.4% respectively. Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) and Other Foreign Currencies (OFCs) accounted for 36.4% and 63.1% of total international assets as well as 49.2% and 47.4% of total international liabilities respectively. International Banking Assets
At end-March 2013, total international assets grew by 8.7% from a quarter ago or 20.7% from a year earlier to MOP722.0 billion (USD90.3 billion). Within this total, external assets increased by 23.7% year-on-year to MOP569.5 billion while local assets in foreign currencies also expanded by 10.7% to MOP152.6 billion. As a major component of international assets, external loans & deposits advanced by 23.0% to MOP530.2 billion. In particular, cross-border non-bank loans went up by 40.9%. International Banking Liabilities
Total international liabilities increased by 8.9% from three months ago or 20.6% year-on-year to MOP692.3 billion (USD86.6 billion). Of this total, external liabilities and local liabilities in foreign currencies grew year-on-year by 11.7% to MOP349.4 billion and 31.2% to MOP342.9 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 31.2% to MOP323.2 billion at end-March 2013 from MOP246.4 billion at end-March 2012. 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 2013, claims on Hong Kong and Mainland China occupied 32.5% and 30.0% of total external assets correspondingly, while claims on Portugal and Luxembourg took up 10.1% and 2.1% respectively. On external liabilities, Hong Kong and Mainland China accounted for 50.0% and 23.2% of the total respectively while Portugal and France took up respective shares of 4.9% and 4.7%. 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. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao
(Tel：8395 2532; Fax：2835 3042)
