Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong said yesterday that the local government will continue to adopt expansionary fiscal policies this year with the aim of boosting domestic demand and civil society’s confidence in the city’s economic prospects.
Lei made the remarks when addressing a conference with senior representatives from the city’s business sectors. The conference was hosted by the Macau Chamber of Commerce (ACM), colloquially known in Cantonese as Chung Chung, at its headquarters in Zape.
Lei said that with the COVID-19 pandemic having faded, 2023 is a crucial year for Macau’s economy to recover and transform. Macau’s economy has had a “good start” since the beginning of this year with the gradual lifting of almost all COVID-19 border entry curbs, Lei said, adding that the number of visitor arrivals to the city, as well as the consumer market, have been steadily recovering.
In addition, Lei said, the city’s employment has been improving, while the general price level has remained stable.
Macau has been recording growth in various major macroeconomic indicators, the policy secretary said, adding that the city’s economy is now showing “obvious momentum” of recovery.
Lei pointed out that Macau recorded 2.99 million visitor arrivals during the first two months of this year, a year-on-year increase of around 120 percent.
During the first two months of this year, according to Lei, the number of mainland visitor arrivals to Macau rose 59.5 percent year on year, while the number of Hong Kong visitor arrivals recorded a year-on-year increase of around 930 percent, and the number of Taiwan visitor arrivals rose around 230 percent year on year.
Lei also pointed out that Macau’s gross gaming revenues (GGR) increased 94.9 percent year on year to 34.6 billion in the first three months of this year.
Lei also noted that Macau’s first-ever citywide consumption carnival, which took place between October 15, 2022 and February 28, 2023, generated additional consumer spending of around 1.65 billion patacas.
3 major objectives
Lei said that the local government will implement three major objectives for the city’s economy this year.
Firstly, the government will continue to adopt expansionary fiscal policies to boost domestic demand and civil society’s confidence.
Secondly, Lei said, the government will put special emphasis on the high-quality development of the city’s tourism and leisure industry, with the aim of boosting the internal momentum of Macau’s economic recovery.
Thirdly, Lei said, the local government will intensively push ahead with its drive to develop four new key industries in collaboration of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, with the aim of boosting Macau’s appropriate economic diversification.
According to the Macau government’s “1+4” model aiming to achieve the local economy’s “appropriate diversification”, the local government will consolidate the development of the tourism and leisure industry while putting special emphasis on promoting the development of four new key industries, namely 1) big health, 2) modern finance, 3) high-tech, and 4) conventions and exhibitions as well as culture and sports.
Concerning modern finance, Lei said, the local government will first put special emphasis on the development of a bond market, wealth management, and cross-border financial businesses.
Concerning conventions and exhibitions, Lei stressed, the local government will promote the organisation of more large-scale international conventions and exhibitions in Macau.
Regarding big health, Lei underlined, the local government will push ahead with the development of the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) industry by introducing more big-health enterprises to Macau. In addition, the local government will encourage the local health and tourism sectors to engage in the development of “health plus tourism”, in compliance with the operational start of the public hospital complex in Cotai at the end of this year.
In addition, Lei said, the local government is making intensive preparations for Macau to organise its first trade expo between China and Portuguese-speaking countries (PSCs) this year.
Regarding high-tech, Lei said, the local government will continue to promote university-industrial research collaboration as well as the transformation of scientific research achievements. In addition, the government will constantly improve its policies and measures favourable to the development of high-tech enterprises.
Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong addresses yesterday’s conference with senior business representatives at the Macau Chamber of Commerce (ACM) headquarters in Zape. – Photo courtesy of TDM
