The fiscal reserves of the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) reached a record high of 702.26 billion patacas at the end of May, breaking the 700-billion-pataca benchmark for the first time, according to a notice published by the Macau Monetary Authority (AMCM) in the Official Gazette (BO) yesterday.
The fiscal reserves of 702.26 billion patacas (about 0.7 trillion patacas) consisted of basic reserves of 163.60 billion patacas and extraordinary reserves of 538.66 billion patacas.
The 702.26 billion patacas represented an increase of 0.7 percent from the 697.27 billion patacas at the end of April, an increase of 5.3 percent from the 666.74 billion patacas at the end of 2025, and an increase of 14.0 percent from the 616.21 billion patacas at the end of 2024.
The continuous growth in the government’s fiscal reserves over recent years has not only been attributed to a budget surplus (revenue exceeding expenditure) but also to the fact that the government has been able to earn an annual positive return from investing its fiscal reserves over recent years. For instance, according to previous AMCM announcements, the government recorded an annual return of 5.2 percent, 5.3 percent, and 6.9 percent from investing its fiscal reserves in 2023, 2024, and 2025.
Macau’s quasi-central bank updates the MSAR’s fiscal reserves in the gazette on a monthly basis.
This file photo taken earlier this year shows vehicles driving past the headquarters of the Macau Monetary Authority (AMCM) on Guia Hill on the peninsula. – Photo: Tony Wong
