Pereira Coutinho paints a dark picture of the local economy, calls for consumption cards

Lawmaker José Pereira Coutinho has painted a dark picture of the local economy, calling on the government to enforce new financial support measures such as the reissuing of electronic consumption cards.

The lawmaker noted that, recently, the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lei Wai Nong, predicted that Macau’s economic growth for 2024 could reach 10% but, in reality, the economy seems to be receding.

“Recent statistical data on the transactions involving commercial stores and office spaces show that business has been decreasing at a very sharp rate,” Pereira Coutinho said, adding, “back in 2010 there were 2,451 [of this type of] transaction but in 2023 there were only 299 transactions. We see that there was a decrease of around 820%, i.e., an abrupt drop in this type of transaction.”

Making use of the same data from the Statistics and Census Service, the lawmakers added that, even in the residential market, the drop in transactions is also very significant with 21,628 units transacted in 2007 but only 2,879 units in 2023 (-751%).

“These data show that, in general, Macau’s economy is going from bad to worse with serious social implications while small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) struggle to survive due to a lack of customers,” he said. He adding that the “recent radical changes” that have occurred in the gaming industry will further impact the survival of SMEs, namely in the food and beverage sector.

According to the same lawmaker, this situation is due to the “slow death” situation of the junkets and what is left of the VIP gaming sector, which he fears will soon increase the number of unemployed locals.

“I call once again for electronic consumption cards to be distributed to help families in difficulty and thus increase domestic consumption,” he said, adding, “the government must also increase the pension to match the real living costs due to the increase of the price of essential goods.”