According to the statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, the proportion of international business in the local banking sectorrosein thefirstquarter of 2023. At end-March2023, the share of international assets in total banking assetsincreased to85.6% from85.4% at end-December2022, while the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilitiesroseto83.4% from81.9%.
Non-local currencies continued to be the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-March2023, the shares of the pataca in total international assets and total international liabilities were0.8% and 0.6% respectively. The Hong Kong dollar, the US dollar, the renminbi and other foreign currencies accounted for30.3%,42.8%,22.8% and3.4% of total international assets while their respective shares in total international liabilities were33.4%,38.8%,23.8% and3.5%.
International Banking Assets
At end-March2023, total international assetsincreased by2.8% from a quarter ago to MOP2,270.9billion (USD280.9billion). Within this total, external assetsroseby4.2%from the previous quarterto MOP1,666.5billionwhereaslocal assets in foreign currenciesdroppedby1.0% to MOP604.4billion. As a major component of international assets, external non-bank loansdecreasedby3.6% to MOP676.4billion.
International Banking Liabilities
Total international liabilitiesincreased by4.3% from three months ago to MOP2,212.8billion (USD273.7billion).Of this total, external liabilities and local liabilities in foreign currenciesgrewquarter-to-quarter by5.7% to MOP1,269.6billion and2.6% to MOP943.2billion respectively.Deposits taken from external banks constituted a major component of international liabilities.This type of depositsroseby15.6% to MOP712.0billion at end-March2023.
Breakdown of External Banking Assets and Liabilities by Region
The majority of external assets and liabilities of the local banking sector were relatedto Asia. At end-March2023, claims on Mainland China and Hong Kong occupied42.1% and25.2% of total external assets. Meanwhile, claims on Portuguese-speaking countries and countries along the “Belt and Road” occupied respective shares of0.7% and10.8%. On external liabilities,Mainland ChinaandHong Kongaccounted for42.0% and41.0% of the total respectively.Portuguese-speaking countries and countries along the “Belt and Road” represented 0.6% and5.2% respectively.
The compilation of International Banking Statisticsmainlyfollows 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.