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 2013. Concurrently, the utilisation of SME credit in proportion to the credit limit approved by banks dropped marginally.

New Lending Approved

In the first half of 2013, new SME credit limit approved by Macao banks totalled MOP12.6 billion, up by 3.6% from the second half year of 2012 or 89.3% from the same period of 2012. The collateralised ratio, which indicates the proportion of credit limit with tangible assets pledged, was 75.2%, up 10.4 percentage points when compared with the last survey period or 12.0 percentage points when compared with the same period of 2012.

Credit Utilisation

As at end-June 2013, the outstanding value of total SME loans increased 3.6% from end-2012 or 6.9% from a year earlier to MOP33.0 billion. When compared with end-2012, SME loans to “non-monetary financial institutions”, “wholesale and retail trade” and “information technology” increased at respective rates of 42.7%, 24.3% and 21.2%, whereas those to “restaurants, hotels and similar activities” and “transport, warehouse and communications” dropped 32.3% and 5.0% respectively.

The utilisation rate, defined as the proportion of outstanding credit balance to the credit limit granted, dropped 0.8 percentage points from six months ago to 56.7%.

Delinquent Loans

At the end of June 2013, the outstanding balance of delinquent SME loans decreased by 45.1% from six months ago to MOP165.2 million. Compared to a year ago, the balance dropped 61.4%. The delinquency ratio, a ratio of delinquent loans outstanding balance to total SME loans outstanding, dropped 0.44 percentage points from end-2012 or 0.89 percentage points from a year earlier to 0.50%.

For enquiry, please contact:

Research and Statistics Department, Monetary Authority of Macao

(Tel：83952532; Fax：28353042)