Customs procedures at Cotai Border simplified

Goods passing through the Cotai /Lotus Border between the Macau SAR and Zhuhai need only submit a transshipment declaration form by Macau Economic Services (DSE), and no longer have to submit Macau Custom’s confirmation letter effective yesterday. Gongbei Customs and Macau Customs in Hengqin held a seminar yesterday to announce the simplification of The Economic Co-operation Framework Agreement (ECFA) for goods undergoing Customs transit procedures. About 70 enterprise representatives from Macau and Zhuhai attended. The Gongbei Customs representative said the newly adopted measure helps reduce clearance costs for businesses and increases the efficiency of transporting goods through Customs. A Macau Customs representatives says it would save about half a day to two days in cargo transfer time, benefiting about 161 enterprises who pass through Gongbei Customs to import goods. On a year-on-year comparison, the foreign exchange reserves that the city had as at last month-end posted a jump of 14.4 per cent from MOP133.9 billion. In addition, the amount represented 12 times the currency in circulation, or 101.7 per cent of Pataca M2, for the period.
‘M2’ refers to that part of the money supply that includes physical coins and currency, as well as readily liquid assets such as on-demand bank deposits and money held in cheque accounts plus all time-related deposits, savings deposits, and non-institutional money market funds.
Meanwhile, the trade-weighted effective exchange rate index for the local official currency rose by 0.71 points month-on-month, or 7.05 points year-on-year, to 103.67 in the month. The index is a gauge of the domestic currency’s exchange rates against the currencies of the city’s major partners.
As a result, the increases in the index suggest the pataca had generally appreciated against the currencies of Macau’s major trading partners in February.