Balance on SME loans increases

The outstanding balance of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) loans recorded growth in the first half of 2018, according to statistics released yesterday by the Monetary Authority of Macao. While the share of SME loans to major industries remained broadly stable, newly- approved SME credit retreated.

In the first half of 2018, new SME credit limit approved by Macau banks totaled MOP10.6 billion, down 18.4 percent from the second half of 2017 or 16.1 percent from the same period of 2017. The collateralized ratio, which indicates the proportion of credit limit with tangible assets pledged, was 77.4 percent, up 4.2 percentage points when compared with the last survey period, but down 8.8 percentage points when compared with the same period of 2017.

As at the end of June 2018, the outstanding balance of total SME loans increased 5.7 percent from end-2017 or 12.6 percent from a year earlier to MOP81.9 billion. Compared to the last survey period, SME loans to “restaurants, hotels and similar activities”, “construction and public works” and “information technology” increased at respective rates of 64.1 percent, 10.9 percent and 10.3 percent whereas those to “transport, warehouse and communications” dropped 0.4 percent.

At end-June 2018, the outstanding balance of delinquent SME loans rose 10.8 percent from six months ago or 12.5 percent from the preceding year to MOP578.5 million.

The delinquency ratio, a ratio of delinquent loans outstanding balance to total SME loans outstanding, rose 0.03 percentage points from end-
December 2017 to 0.71 percent.