MACAO, Aug. 11 (Xinhua) -- The new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) in Macao increased in June, while those of commercial real estate loans (CRELs) decreased, the special administrative region's monetary watchdog said on Sunday.

(File photo: VCG)

According to statistics released by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new RMLs approved by Macao banks rose 53.1 percent month-to-month to 6.04 billion patacas (about 748.17 million U.S. dollars) in June.

Among them, new RMLs to residents, representing 98.6 percent of the total, increased 56.6 percent to 5.95 billion patacas (about 737.02 million dollars). On the other hand, the non-resident component dropped 39.4 percent to 86.3 million patacas (about 10.69 million dollars).

The monthly average of new RMLs approved between April and June 2019 was 4.2 billion patacas (about 520.25 million dollars), up 27.0 percent from the previous period from March to May 2019.

New CRELs dropped 45.0 percent month-to-month to 4.1 billion patacas (about 507.87 million dollars). Within this total, new CRELs to residents, which accounted for 97.4 percent of the total, decreased 46.1 percent to 4.0 billion patacas (about 495.48 million dollars).

On the other hands, new CRELs to non-residents grew 111.0 percent from a relatively low base to 108.6 million patacas (about 13.45 million dollars).

The monthly average of new CRELs approved between April and June 2019 was 5.5 billion patacas (about 681.28 million dollars), down 3.3 percent as compared with the previous period from March to May 2019.

At the end of June 2019, the delinquency ratio for RMLs stood at 0.22 percent, down 0.03 percentage points from the preceding month but up 0.04 percentage points over a year earlier. The ratio for CRELs was 0.28 percent, up 0.01 percentage point from a month ago or 0.14 percentage points from the end of June 2018.