Slight decline in broad money supply
Macau’s supply of broad money retreated 0.6% month-on-month to MOP688.3 patacas in February 2022, the special administrative region’s monetary watchdog said yesterday. According to statistics released by the Monetary Authority of Macao, the currency in circulation and demand deposits decreased by 4.0% and 0.7% respectively. M1 thus dropped 1.7% from the previous month. Resident deposits dropped 0.5% from the preceding month to MOP667.6 billion, whereas non-resident deposits increased 0.1% to MOP383.7 billion. Meanwhile, public sector deposits with the banking sector rose 0.9% to MOP264.7 billion. As a result, total deposits in the banking sector remained virtually stable at MOP1,315.9 billion.
No progress on projects worth MOP7b
A committee has revealed that seven projects under the government’s Investment and Development Expenditure Plan (PIDDA) budget in 2021, amounting to MOP6.9 billion, saw no progress whatsoever. Chairman of the Follow-up Committee on Public Finance Affairs, Wong Kit Cheng, also revealed that some 253 projects were financed by PIDDA, while 27 projects were cancelled. The committee is requesting clarifications on 21 of the cancellations.
