Commercial real estate loans double in August

By
Kam Leong

The new approvals of mortgage loans by local banks jumped in August; in particular, those of new commercial real estate loans recorded a notable increase of 111.4 per cent month-on-month to MOP7.4 billion (US$925 million) in the period, the latest official data released yesterday by the Monetary Authority of Macau (AMCM) reveals.
In the month, 87 per cent of the new approvals of commercial real estate loans were granted to local residents, amounting to MOP7.3 billion, increasing 231 per cent month-on-month, whilst those to non-residents plunged 88.9 per cent month-on-month to MOP145.5 million.
On a year-on-year basis, the total amount granted for commercial loans represents a decrease of 23.6 per cent, due to residents dropping by 23.5 per cent year-on-year even though non-residents registered an increase of nearly 80 per cent year-on-year.
In addition, local banks’ approvals of residential mortgage loans grew by 6 per cent month-on-month to MOP3.7 billion in August.  Compared to the same month last year, the amount fell by 33.6 per cent.
Of the total housing mortgages granted, those to residents accounted for 95.6 per cent at MOP3.5 billion, suggesting a growth of 3.2 per cent. Meanwhile, those to non-residents surged 156.5 per cent month-on-month to MOP164 million. AMCM explained that the growth is due to ‘a lower comparison base in the previous month’.
On the other hand, approvals of equitable mortgages, which refers to new residential mortgages collateralised by uncompleted units, registered an increase of 26.9 per cent month-on-month in August, at MOP296.8 million. In particular, those to residents, accounting for 98.8 per cent of the total, soared 32.3 per cent month-on-month to MOP293.3 million.
As at the end of August, the outstanding value of residential mortgages amounted to MOP177.9 billion, a slight increase of 0.4 per cent month-on-month, or a growth of 5.3 per cent year-on-year.  Meanwhile, that of commercial real estate loans was up slightly by 0.2 per cent month-on-month, or by 13.1 per cent year-on-year, totalling MOP170 billion.
Meanwhile, the delinquency ratio for housing mortgages stood at 0.15 per cent at the end of the month, up 0.03 percentage points month-on-month. The ratio for commercial mortgages jumped 0.07 percentage points month-on-month to 0.11 per cent.