MSAR accounts record surplus of over MOP166 billion in 2025

[Photo: Renato Marques]

The Macau Special Administrative Region’s accounts recorded a surplus of around MOP166.4 billion in 2025, the Monetary Authority of Macao (AMCM) has said in its release on the preliminary 2025 MSAR Balance of Payments estimate.

According to the AMCM release, the MSAR’s preliminary balance of payments (BOP) statistics show that the current account posted a surplus of MOP165.6 billion, amid an increase in exports of travel services. At the same time, reserve assets recorded a surplus of MOP800 million.

The BOP, which comprises the current account, the capital account, and the financial account, is a statistical statement that summarizes an economy’s external transactions with the rest of the world.

According to the AMCM, in 2025, exports of goods and imports of goods (f.o.b.) decreased year over year by 3.4% and 3.6%, respectively. In particular, imports were higher than exports; the merchandise trade deficit narrowed from MOP105.6 billion in 2024 to MOP101.7 billion in 2025.

Concurrently, service exports rose by 6.3%, mainly driven by an increase in exports of travel services, while service imports increased by 4.5%. This expanded the services account surplus from MOP273.6 billion in 2024 to MOP291.9 billion in 2025.

The primary income account, which reflects cross-border flows of factor income, recorded a net inflow of MOP3.6 billion in 2025; inflows fell from MOP111.8 billion in 2024 to MOP101.4 billion in 2025, while outflows fell from MOP116.5 billion in 2024 to MOP97.8 billion in 2025.

Meanwhile, the secondary income account, which comprises current transfers between Macau residents and nonresidents, recorded a net outflow of MOP28.2 billion in 2025, down MOP1.1 billion from the net outflow in 2024.

As the invisible trade surplus and the net inflow of primary income offset the merchandise trade deficit and the net outflow of secondary income, the current account recorded a surplus of MOP165.6 billion in 2025, up MOP31.6 billion from MOP133.9 billion in 2024.

Reserve assets post MOP800 million surplus

In the financial account, financial non-reserve assets registered a net outflow of MOP159.8 billion in 2025, down MOP1.6 billion from the net outflow in 2024.

Within this total, direct investment continued to record a net inflow, which decreased from MOP5.2 billion in 2024 to MOP0.9 billion in 2025. Meanwhile, mainly due to slower growth in external securities investment held by local residents (excluding MSAR’s foreign exchange reserves), portfolio investment net outflows contracted from MOP185.7 billion in 2024 to MOP111.5 billion in 2025.

Concurrently, financial derivatives registered a net inflow of MOP49.9 million in 2025. In addition, other investment recorded a net outflow of MOP49.3 billion in 2025, compared with a net inflow of MOP19.5 billion in 2024, due to the significant increase in Macau residents’ other external assets.

AMCM also remarked that the reserve assets in the financial account record the net change in Macau’s foreign exchange reserves held by the AMCM. After price, exchange rate and other adjustments, reserve assets rose by MOP800 million, implying that the overall BOP registered a surplus of the same amount in 2025.

BOP statistics are compiled in accordance with the Balance of Payments and International Investment Position Manual (Sixth Edition) of the International Monetary Fund.

AMCM noted that the current release incorporates preliminary estimates of key statistics, while a statistical report with more comprehensive data will be published in December 2026.