Macau | Economy will grow at an average rate of 5.3pct in 2017/2018

The Macau economy is expected to grow at a rate of 5.2 percent this year and an average rate of 5.3 percent in the 2017/2018 period, according to the latest report on Macau from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

The publication adds that the expected economic growth will be based on increased gaming revenues, the main industry of Macau, and improvement of the economic climate will lead to a direct increase in household consumption.

Although Macau’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2016 contracted for the third consecutive year, the final two quarters posted year on year growth, and the final quarter of the year saw growth of 7 percent.

Some large hotel and gaming complex will open to the public in the period in the Cotai landfill area between the islands of Coloane and Taipa, increasing both hotel capacity and the number of casinos.

Macau will continue to record high surpluses in both fiscal terms and in its foreign trade, due to increased tax revenues, a direct result of higher revenues from punters in the territory’s 38 casinos.

The series of 26 months of declines in casino revenues from casinos started in 2014 but finally stopped in August 2016, and February recorded the highest growth in the last seven months, an increase of 17.8 percent to MOP22.991 billion (USD2.873 billion).

Accumulated gross revenues in the first two months of the year amounted to MOP42.246 billion (USD5.280 billion), a 10.6 percent increase when compared with January/February 2016.

Gross fixed capital formation, or investment, is expected to register an annual contraction of 7.7 percent this year, before rising again in 2018 with a marginal increase of 0.5 percent.  MDT/Macauhub