CEPA exports jump 7.2 pct in August

The city saw its exports of goods to Mainland China under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) rise by 7.21 per cent last month as compared to July this year, the latest official data released by the Economic Service Bureau (DSE) reveals.
In August, the city’s exports of CEPA goods to the Mainland reached MOP6.81 million (US$830,779), an increase of MOP457,877 from some MOP6.35 million in July, boosting the total value during the first eight months of the year to MOP64.8 million.
The accumulative value of such export activity has totalled MOP630.4 million since the establishment of the system in January 2004 to August this year.
In terms of trade in services, DSE approved one new certificate for ‘Macau Service Supplier’ for local firms to operate their businesses in the country last month. The government had issued a total of 491 certificates to local companies as at August this year.
According to official data, most of these local companies that were issued certificates engaged in transportation services, such as freight forwarding, logistics, storage and warehousing as well as transport, accounting for 61 per cent, or 298 of the total.
Trade values with China jump
On the other hand, the latest official statistics of the Chinese Ministry of Commerce indicated that the city’s value of trade activities with the Mainland had surged by 73.1 per cent year-on-year during July this year, driven by the country’s exports to Macau jumping 78.6 per cent year-on-year.
In July, the total trade value between the two parties reached US$520 million, representing a jump of 33.7 per cent year-on-year compared to the month before. US$500 million of the total values were China’s exports to the Special Administrative Region, an increase of 34.9 per cent month-on-month.
On the contrary, the city’s exports to the country dropped 11.9 per cent year-on-year; on a month-on-month comparison, it means a lift of 4.2 per cent in July.
Cumulatively, the trade value between the regions totalled US$2.66 billion during the first seven months of the year, a year-on-year rise of 35.7 per cent. Meanwhile, China’s exports to Macau accounted for US$2.54 billion of the total, increasing 38.3 per cent year-on-year whilst Macau’s exports to China dropped 4.4 per cent year-on-year to US$120 million.
More capital invested
In terms of investment, Chinese authorities gave a green light to some 27 projects invested in by Macau firms on the Mainland. Although the number of projects registered a month-on-month decrease of 20.6 per cent, the actual capital used by the local companies soared 92.4 per cent month-on-month to US$120 million.
The total number of local projects that China approved was 239 during the first seven months of the year, a lift of 22.6 per cent year-on-year, while the capital used during the seven months on projects surged 80.5 per cent year-on-year to US$650 million.
Although the cumulative amount of capital used by local firms totalled US$12.6 billion as at the end of July this year, the Ministry said it only accounted for 0.8 per cent of the total foreign investment it had attracted during the period.
The Ministry’s data also indicated that Mainland firms had been contracted for a total of 21 projects in Macau during the first seven months, worth US$1.29 billion. Sales accomplished by these projects totalled US$630 million. In addition, as at the end of July, some 118,866 Mainland Chinese residents were working in the Special Administrative Region.