The Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) releases today the preliminary balance of payments (BOP) of Macao SAR for the reference year 2012. The BOP is a statistical statement that summarises external transactions of an economy with the rest of the world. In 2012, Macao recorded an overall BOP surplus of MOP30.1 billion. Among the major components, the current account registered a surplus of MOP152.0 billion. The financial non-reserve assets showed a net increase of MOP106.8 billion. Due to strong domestic demand and visitor spending, merchandise imports, valued at f.o.b., surged by 14.0% in 2012. After showing an increase of 7.0% in 2011, merchandise exports soared by 24.1%. Although exports of goods rose faster than imports of goods, the merchandise trade deficit enlarged from MOP62.4 billion in 2011 to MOP70.3 billion in 2012, given the much larger size of merchandise imports over exports. On the other hand, strong exports of travel services drove the surplus in the services account up from MOP235.2 billion to MOP275.3 billion. The primary income account, which reflects cross-border flows of factor income, recorded a net outflow of MOP44.0 billion in 2012, as compared to the net outflow of MOP39.8 billion in the previous year. The significant increase stemmed mainly from the increase in income earned by foreign direct investors in Macao. The secondary income account, which comprises mainly inflows and outflows of personal transfers as well as donations received/made by local social service organisations with respect to the rest of the world, recorded a net outflow of MOP9.1 billion, representing an increase of MOP4.6 billion from 2011. As the large invisible trade surplus offset the deficit in merchandise trade as well as net outflows of primary and secondary income, the current account surplus reached MOP152.0 billion, up markedly by MOP23.4 billion from MOP128.6 billion in 2011. Net financial non-reserve assets registered a net outflow of MOP106.8 billion in 2012, compared to a net outflow of MOP13.2 billion in 2011. Of which, a net inflow of direct investment amounting to MOP33.1 billion was recorded, as against the net inflow of MOP12.9 billion in the preceding year while the net outflow of portfolio investment amounted to MOP3.9 billion, down from MOP15.1 billion in 2011. According to the Fiscal Reserve Act that came into force at the outset of 2012, the retained surplus of the MSAR Government had to be carved out from foreign exchange reserves for establishing the MSAR's Fiscal Reserve under a separate account. This reallocation of assets, together with the rapid accumulation of foreign assets related to the Fiscal Reserve during the year, caused the net outflow of other investment in the BOP to surge from MOP10.7 billion in 2011 to MOP136.5 billion in 2012. On the other hand, financial derivatives recorded a net inflow of MOP487.7 million in 2012, as against a net outflow of MOP350.7 million in 2011. Reserve assets in the BOP records the net change in foreign currency assets held by the Monetary Authority of Macao (excluding the MSAR's Fiscal Reserve). In 2012, with the enforcement of the Fiscal Reserve Act, the retained surplus of the MSAR Government was no longer maintained in foreign exchange reserves, hence narrowing the change in reserve assets. After price, exchange rate and other adjustments, reserve assets placed outside of Macao SAR went up by MOP30.1 billion, as compared to an increase of MOP81.6 billion in 2011. Starting from this year, Macao's BOP statistics have been compiled in accordance with the newly revised Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (Sixth Edition) of the International Monetary Fund. The current release incorporates preliminary estimates of key statistics, and a detailed report with revised data will be published in December 2013. For enquiry, please contact:
Research and Statistics Department
Monetary Authority of Macao (Tel：83952532Fax：28353042 Email: gee@amcm.gov.mo)
