1 in 7 patacas go to non-resident earners

One in every seven patacas received as income in Macau makes its way to non-resident earners, the Statistics and Census Service has revealed. The new data represents a significant income outflow but marks a slight decrease from a year before.
The new information, compiled from 2014 data, puts Macau’s Gross National Income (GNI) at MOP380.23 billion at current prices, denoting a 14.2 percent “leakage” to non-resident earners; either to foreign workers based in the MSAR or to non-residents investing from abroad.
At the same time, the GNI figure represents a shortfall of MOP63.07 billion compared to Gross Domestic Product, ascertained to stand at MOP443.3 billion at current prices.
Gross National Income for 2014 increased by 6.7 percent in real terms (after adjusting for inflation) while per-capita GNI saw a marginal increase of 1.8 percent in real terms.
For non-resident enterprises and investors earning from investments within Macau – otherwise known as total outflow of the external factor income – 2014 recorded an increase of 11.9 percent year-on-year, mainly due to a 7.7 percent rise in direct investment income.
In contrast, the inflow of income earned by MSAR residents investing in overseas enterprises rose a staggering 53.5 percent year-on-year to MOP35.06 billion, largely attributed to an 85.9 percent increase in portfolio investment income.
Additionally, direct investment income (MOP829 million) and income on reserve assets (MOP1.34 billion) increased by 170.2 percent and 11.8 percent respectively.
In 2014, per-capita GNI was at MOP611,999, up by 4.3 percent from the recorded MOP586,681 from a year earlier. The latest data indicates a slowdown in the growth of incomes in Macau when compared with the 2012-2013 period, which saw a rise of more than 14 percent.
Meanwhile, last year’s data showed that non-resident earnings amounted to 15.9 percent of Gross Domestic Product, meaning that 2014’s leakage (14.2 percent) records a slight decrease in the proportion of total income earned by non-residents as opposed to MSAR residents.
As export prices of goods and services have grown at a faster rate than import prices, the Statistics and Census Service noted a rise in Macau’s external real purchasing power. Staff Reporter