New companies and registered capital fall

The number of newly incorporated companies in the SAR as well as the total value of registered capital for companies in the SAR registered year-on-year decreases in the first quarter of 2016, according to the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC). However, at the end of the first quarter of 2016 the number of registered companies totalled 53,978 – an increase of 6.98 per cent from the same period last year.
Mainland capital
The dispatch shows that the number of new companies registered in the first quarter of the year dropped by 338 to 1,117 while the total value of registered capital fell by 21.8 per cent to MOP123 million. The majority of capital originated locally (MOP71 million) and from Mainland China (MOP40 million) – including MOP28 million from Beijing. Capital from the nine provinces of the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region totalled MOP8 million, of which 44.6 per cent originated from Guangdong Province.
In terms of shareholder origin 761 new companies were established solely by Macau shareholders whilst 103 joint ventures were set up between shareholders from Macao and other countries or regions.
Wholesale and retail rule
Most of the newly created companies were from the Business Services sector – 338 – and Wholesale & Retail Trade – 323 – with the latter accounting for 62.5 per cent of all registered companies. The value of registered capital of companies being closed down increased by 101.8 per cent to MOP52 million, with some 196 companies undergoing dissolution – up by 24.05 per cent per cent year-on-year.
Some 75.6 per cent of total companies were registered with total capital of less than MOP50,000 and total value of capital of MOP22 million (18.1 per cent of the total); meanwhile, 18 new companies were registered with capital of MOP1 million or more, with total value of capital MOP66 million.