According to the statistics released today by the Monetary Authority of Macao, the proportion of international business in the local banking sector remained stable in the fourth quarter of 2013. At end-2013, the share of international assets in total banking assets advanced to 85.3% from 84.9% at end-September 2013, whereas the share of international liabilities in total banking liabilities dropped slightly to 80.8% from 81.1%. Foreign currencies were the dominant denomination in international banking transactions. At end-2013, the shares of Pataca (MOP) in total international assets and total international liabilities were 0.8% and 1.6% respectively. Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) and Other Foreign Currencies (OFCs) accounted for 35.9% and 63.3% of total international assets as well as 46.4% and 52.0% of total international liabilities respectively. International Banking Assets
At end-2013, total international assets expanded by 3.8% from a quarter ago or 27.1% from a year earlier to MOP844.4 billion (USD105.7 billion). Within this total, external assets grew by 26.2% year-on-year to MOP652.8 billion while local assets in foreign currencies increased by 30.4% to MOP191.6 billion. As a major component of international assets, external loans & deposits advanced by 25.8% to MOP603.5 billion. International Banking Liabilities
Total international liabilities increased by 2.8% from three months ago or 25.7% year-on-year to MOP799.6 billion (USD100.1 billion). Of this total, external liabilities and local liabilities in foreign currencies grew year-on-year by 27.3% to MOP396.8 billion and 24.2% to MOP402.8 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 23.4% to MOP375.8 billion at end-2013 from MOP304.7 billion at end-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-2013, claims on Hong Kong and Mainland China occupied 33.6% and 31.0% of total external assets correspondingly, while claims on Portugal, Luxembourg and Germany took up 9.6%, 1.7% and 1.1% respectively. On external liabilities, Hong Kong and Mainland China accounted for 47.4% and 20.9% of the total respectively while France, Portugal and Germany took up respective shares of 4.5%, 4.3% and 2.3%. 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)
