Macau’s gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 8.9 percent year-on-year in real terms in the first quarter of the year, “as a result of the weakening total demand,” the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) said in a statement today.
According to the statement, exports of services decreased by 4.7 percent year-on-year, of which exports of gaming services dropped by 25.1 percent while exports of other tourism services increased by 1.9 percent, while exports of goods expanded by 56.8 percent.
Domestic demand shrank by 1.2 percent year-on-year on account of a decline in private consumption. Imports of goods and services rose by 29.0 percent and 2.8 percent respectively. The implicit deflator of GDP, which measures the overall changes in prices, went up by 0.3 percent year-on-year.
“In the face of an uncertain economic outlook and a sluggish job market, residents’ spending on durable and semi-durable goods declined, which led to a year-on-year drop of 2.2 percent in household final consumption expenditure in the domestic market,” the statement said.
Household final consumption expenditure abroad fell by 10.8 percent owing to the resurgence of the COVID-19 epidemic in the Chinese mainland. Overall private consumption contracted by 2.7 percent year-on-year.
Government final consumption expenditure dropped by 2.0 percent year-on-year, “attributable to a reduction in the expenditure on COVID-19 prevention by the local government. Net purchases of goods and services dropped by 6.9 percent while employees’ compensation rose by 1.3 percent.
Gross fixed capital formation increased by 3.4 per cent year-on-year, of which construction investment dropped by 1.9 percent, while equipment investment grew by 30.5 percent. Public construction investment and equipment investment leapt by 40.6 percent and 242.4 percent respectively, mainly due to increased investments in construction of public housing, the fourth Macau-Taipa bridge and a large-scale public hospital complex in Cotai, the statement underlined.
As regards private investment, construction investment fell by 19.4 percent owing to reduced investment in casinos, the statement noted. However, equipment investment recorded an uplift of 22.4 percent.
Merchandise trade continued to thrive, with imports and exports of goods rising by 29.0 percent and 56.8 percent year-on-year respectively.
Despite a rise (+8.0 percent) in the number of visitor arrivals in the first quarter, exports of other tourism services grew by a mere 1.9 percent and exports of gaming services fell by 25.1 percent, due to a decrease in the number of overnight visitors; as a result, exports of services dropped by 4.7 percent year-on-year. Meanwhile, imports of services increased by 2.8 percent, the statement underlined.
