The overall preliminary balance of payments (BOP) of the Macau SAR recorded a surplus of MOP10.9 billion in 2021. Of which, the current account registered a surplus of MOP23.7 billion, and financial non-reserve assets showed a net decrease of MOP10.1 billion, data from the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) shows.
Exports of goods increased by 92.4% year-on-year while imports of goods (f.o.b.) rose by 58.1%. With imports having a higher base than exports, the merchandise trade deficit increased from MOP61.5 billion in 2020 to MOP85.6 billion in 2021.
Simultaneously, the rebound of travel exports drove up total service exports by 60.1% during the year while service imports merely rose by 20.6%. Therefore, the services account surplus expanded from MOP66.2 billion in 2020 to MOP116.3 billion in 2021.
The primary income account, which reflects cross-border flows of factor income, recorded a net inflow of MOP5.9 billion in 2021; of which, inflows went down from MOP55.1 billion in 2020 to MOP46.5 billion in 2021. LV