anselmo l s teng : recent economic and financial developments in macao opening speech by mr anselmo l s teng, chairman of the monetary authority of macao, at the annual meeting of the offshore group of banking supervisors, macao, 30 october 2007. * * * mr. powell, chairman of ogbs, dear delegates, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to macao! on behalf of the special administrative region government, i wish to express our gratitude to members of the ogbs for choosing macao to be the venue to hold its annual meeting. apart from all the hard work that lies ahead, please spare some time to appreciate the excitement and nostalgia provided by this fascinating city. macao is no doubt in the lime light. after the lacklustre years before and in the wake of the new millennium, economy picked up in 2004 in which gdp jumped by 28. 4 % which was mainly attributed to the opening of our gaming right and the “ individual traveller ” scheme of the mainland. 2005 saw a consolidation of 6. 9 % growth. 2006 achieved flying colours again with a growth of 16. 6 %. in the first half of 2007, we achieved a gdp growth of 28. 9 %. the burgeoning tourism services industry, which is undergoing diversification, has been the locomotive of our thriving economy in the past years. the booming economy enables the banking sector to continue to burgeon. banks in macao made a total profit of mop3. 9 billion in 2006. a 21. 7 % growth in the first 6 months of 2007 was witnessed. both assets and deposits also grew by double digit while non - performing loan ratio stands at 0. 9 %. against such a backdrop, the current capital adequacy ratio of the whole sector is maintained at a high level of around 16 %, doubled the required 8 % benchmark set by the basle committee on banking supervision. the financial sector of macao contributes about 10 % to gdp. the sector is dominated by banks and insurance companies. at the moment, there are 27 banks operating in macao of which 3 are operating under offshore regime. apart from local participants, you will find capitals provided by investors from china, hong kong, portugal, the us, the uk, france, singapore and chinese taiwan. in fact, overseas capitals account for the majority in our banking sector. doubtless, from a global perspective, the financial sector of macao is highly internationalized.

insurance, by appointing the liquidator, who will direct the insurer in liquidation “ kosova e re ” and will ensure fair and equal treatment, always in accordance with applicable legal requirements, to all creditors. with the appointment of the liquidator, all responsibilities of the administrator, the board of directors and the management of the insurer in relation to its management cease. the liquidator will be available to review all claims, primarily policyholders as well as other creditors. the liquidator will report on a monthly basis to the cbk regarding the progress of fulfillment of obligations to creditors. at the same time the liquidator will notify in more detail all creditors and other stakeholders regarding the manner of communication and will provide phone contacts, email and location for submission of all requirements of policyholders and other creditors. 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches the central bank instructs all policyholders and other creditors to follow announcements in the coming days by the liquidator and the cbk regarding the instructions on processing the claims they have in relation to the insurer in liquidation “ kosova e re ". on this occasion, i would like to express our high appreciation to the insurers operating in our market who have expressed their willingness to take over all active policies of the insurer “ kosova e re ” so that citizens do not need to repurchase the policies of insurance. the cbk, in accordance with the duties and responsibilities set forth in the law on the central bank and other relevant laws governing the activity of financial institutions, will continue its activities to ensure full compliance of the activity of financial institutions with the requirements set by applicable laws and regulations. maintaining the ability of financial institutions to meet financial obligations is of a great importance for maintaining financial stability in the country, which is the primary objective of the cbk. therefore, in order to maintain financial stability and protect users of financial services, the cbk remains committed to use all legal opportunities to ensure the smooth running of the financial system in the country, providing the country ’ s economy with a financial system in function of macroeconomic development and stability, as well as a system that provides security for all users of financial services. revocation of the license of the insurer “ kosova e re ” does not endanger the stability of the insurance sector in kosovo. kosovo ’ s financial system, since the beginning of its operation, has had a stable development and has served as an important source of macroeconomic stability in the