Economy grows due to ‘investments in new gaming facilities’

Macau’s economy is set to grow between 4 and 5 percent this year thanks to investments in the gaming industry, although the GDP recorded negative growth in the last quarter.
Speaking to Lusa news agency, economist Albano Martins forecast of a decline in GDP of between 1 and 2 percent in the last quarter of the year. This is set to be the second quarter of negative growth after Macau’s economy contracted 2.1 percent between July and September.
Although the economy fell into technical recession, Mr Martins recalled that it would not record negative growth this year due to a huge increase in casino revenue in the first five months of 2014.
However the Portuguese economist forecasts a possible negative growth of the GDP for next year. He stresses that the economic effects will not be more severe because gaming operators will continue to invest in their new resorts throughout next year, which will benefit Macau’s economic outlook. MDT/Lusa