Macau’s economy maintained steady growth in the first three quarters of the year, with the preliminary figure for its gross domestic product (GDP) expanding by 2.9 percent year-on-year in real terms to 316.13 billion patacas, the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC) announced in a statement today.
The overall economic output corresponded to 89.8 percent of the level in the same period of pre-COVID-19 2019. Exports of services logged a year-on-year growth of 3.4 percent in the first three quarters, driven by rising visitor arrivals on account of government efforts to boost visitation and a succession of large-scale themed events. Meanwhile, gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) grew by 4.6 percent in the first three quarters owing to the orderly progress of various public and private construction projects, while private consumption expenditure increased by 2.8 percent. Collectively, all these factors contributed to the steady development of the local economy, the bureau said.
GDP up by 0.1 pct in Q3
Macau’s economy sustained positive growth in the third quarter. The preliminary GDP figure expanded by 0.1 percent year-on-year in real terms to 106.06 billion patacas. Exports of gaming services decreased by 4.8 percent year-on-year as casinos’ gross revenue from games of chance “experienced a short-term adjustment due to external environmental factors”, the bureau said. Nevertheless, exports of other tourism services increased by 6.6 percent year-on-year, attributable to a rise in visitor numbers amid the summer peak travel season and tourism promotion initiatives, according to the bureau.
Concurrently, gross fixed capital formation grew notably by 17.2 percent, spurred by the accelerated progress of public and private construction projects. “This growth effectively offset the drop in exports of gaming services, reflecting Macau’s economic resilience with the capacity to withstand risks, and providing support for steady economic development in the third quarter”, the bureau said.
“As Macau’s integration with Hengqin continued to deepen, a gradual increase was observed in the number of investment projects undertaken by Macau-related entities (including public bodies, private enterprises and individuals) in the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin”, the bureau said.
In the third quarter, gross fixed capital formation of Macau-related entities in the zone totalled 540 million patacas, marking a nominal year-on-year rise of 215.3 percent. When taking into account the gross fixed capital formation of Macau-related entities in the zone, GDP grew by 2.6 percent year-on-year in nominal terms to 106.60 billion patacas, according to the statement.
Editor's note: English-language DSEC statement edited by the Post
