New approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) and commercial real estate loans (CRELs) both increased in July, according to statistics released yesterday by the Monetary Authority of Macau.
In July, new RMLs approved by local banks rose by 19.1 percent month-to-month to MOP5.8 billion. Of these, new RMLs to residents – which accounted for 66.2 percent of the total – decreased 19.4 percent to MOP3.8 billion. New approvals of RMLs increased by 65 percent year-on-year.
New CRELs rose by 79.5 percent month-to-month to MOP10.9 billion; of which new CRELs to residents, accounting for 99.7 percent of the total, soared by 82.4 percent to MOP10.9 billion, mainly driven by new loans granted to enterprises for large-scale tourism projects.
In contrast, new CRELs to non-residents fell by 70.8 percent from the previous month to MOP33.9 million. New approvals of CRELs increased by 210.9 percent on an annual basis.
As at end-July, the outstanding value of RMLs was MOP187.9 billion, up by 1.1 percent from a month earlier or 6 percent from a year ago. The resident component made up 93.5 percent of the total. Compared to the previous month, outstanding RMLs to residents and non-residents rose by 0.8 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively.
