According to statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new SME lending approved by Macao banks continued to grow in the first half of 2014. Concurrently, the utilisation of SME credit in proportion to the credit limit approved by banks remained stable when compared with the previous survey period. New lending approved In the first half of 2014, new SME credit limit approved by Macao banks totalled MOP23.2 billion, up by 42.5% from the second half year of 2013 or 84.0% from the same period last year. The collateralised ratio, which indicates the proportion of credit limit with tangible assets pledged, was 75.3%, down 2.4 percentage points when compared with the last survey period but up marginally by 0.1 percentage point when compared with the same period of 2013. Credit utilisation As at end-June 2014, the outstanding value of total SME loans increased 28.9% from end-2013 or 57.9% from a year earlier to MOP52.1 billion. When compared with end-2013, SME loans to "wholesale and retail trade", "construction and public works" and "transport, warehouse and communications" increased at respective rates of 64.5%, 31.7% and 17.1%, whereas those to "electricity, gas and water", "education" and "agriculture and fisheries" dropped 49.4%, 8.7% and 6.1% respectively. The utilisation rate, defined as the proportion of outstanding credit balance to the credit limit granted, dropped 0.6 percentage points from six months ago to 64.4%. Delinquent loans At the end of June 2014, the outstanding balance of delinquent SME loans decreased by 1.5% from six months ago to MOP142.4 million. Compared to a year ago, the balance dropped 13.8%. The delinquency ratio, a ratio of delinquent loans outstanding balance to total SME loans outstanding, dropped 0.08 percentage points from end-2013 or 0.23 percentage points from a year earlier to 0.27%.
