Macau’s gross domestic product (GDP) has finally snapped a two-year contraction amid a recovery in casino receipts.
GDP grew 4 percent year-on-year in real terms in the third quarter, the first positive quarterly growth recorded over the past two years, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced yesterday.
The bureau attributed the return to growth to a rebound in both exports of services and investment. The gain brought an end to a slide that was at its worst in the second quarter last year, when the economy shrank by nearly a quarter.
A Bloomberg story yesterday noted that “the escape from recession adds to recent signs of optimism for the gambling mecca, which has been beaten down by slower growth in mainland China and the country’s crackdown on corruption that scared off high-stakes VIP gamblers”.
