British Virgin Islands accounted for almost half of all newly registered capital in 2021 Q4

The British Virgin Islands – a known offshore jurisdiction – accounted for about 40 per cent of all capital registered in newly incorporated companies in Macau in the fourth quarter of 2021, data published today (Monday) by the Statistics and Census Bureau shows.

In the last three months of last year, a total of 1,082 new companies were incorporated, representing MOP539 million (US$67.1 million) in new capital, of which the Caribbean  British overseas territory contributed with MOP210 million.

In the same period, Macau contributed MOP183 million to 34 per cent of all newly registered capital, with mainland China contributing MOP97 million or 18 per cent of the total.

A total of 5,434 new companies were incorporated in 2021, less 264 than in the previous year, representing almost MOP1.3 billion in registered capital.

Just 29 of these new companies represented 87 per cent of all newly registered capital.

Wholesale & Retail Trade (1,875) and Business Services (1,426) were the sectors that represented the largest chunk of newly registered companies last year and more than 75 per cent of all registered capital.

Of all 5,339 registered shareholders, 4119 were from Macau, with 593 from Mainland China, 443 from Hong Kong.

Of the MOP472.2 million in registered capital hailing from Mainland China, MOP145.7 million came from the nearby Guangdong Province, followed by Henan with MOP86.8 million and Shanghai with MOP79.3 million. Just HJong Kong accounted for a total of MOP130 million in registered capital.

Portuguese-speaking countries accounted for MOP51.8 million in registered capital spread over 22 new companies.

A total of 194 companies also filed for dissolution in 2021 representing some MOP86.7 million