A balance published by the financial regulator in the Official Gazette shows that the reserve was worth 66.67 billion patacas (7.03 billion euros) at the end of last year. The previous record, 663.6 billion patacas (69.9 billion euros), was set in February 2021, despite Macau being in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic at the time.
The reserve earned 50.5 billion patacas (5.33 billion euros) last year, more than in 2024, when assets had increased by 35.7 billion patacas (3.76 billion euros). The best year ever for the financial reserve remains 2019, before the start of the pandemic, when assets appreciated by 70.6 billion patacas (7.44 billion euros).
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According to the AMCM, the appreciation of the reserve accelerated in December, when it gained 3.54 billion patacas (372.6 million euros), which is 1.39 billion patacas (146.5 million euros) more than in November.
The value of the extraordinary reserve at the end of December was 456.5 billion patacas (48.1 billion euros), and the basic reserve, equivalent to 150% of the Macau public budget, was 167.3 billion patacas (17.6 billion euros). Macau’s initial budget for 2025 had planned for a 7% increase in total expenses, to 109.4 billion patacas (1.15 billion euros).
But the Legislative Assembly (AL; parliament) approved in July a proposal presented by the Government for a new budget, which includes an additional increase of 2.86 billion patacas (301.4 million euros) in expenses.
In November, the AL also gave unanimous approval, or a “green light,” to the budget for 2026, which forecasts public expenditures of 113.5 billion patacas (1.2 billion euros).
Subcontracted investments represent the largest portion of Macau’s financial reserve, totaling 286.7 billion patacas (30.2 billion euros), which also includes deposits and current accounts valued at 272.4 billion patacas (28.7 billion euros) as well as credit instruments amounting to 104.6 billion patacas (11 billion euros).
2024, the investments yielded nearly 31 billion patacas (3.27 billion euros) to the financial reserve, corresponding to a return rate of 5.3%, the AMCM said at the end of February 2025.
