Macau GDP rises 25.7% in Q1

Exports of gaming services rose by 62.7 per cent.

Macau.- The Macau Statistics and Census Service has reported that gross domestic product (GDP) for the first quarter of the year was up 25.7 per cent year-on-year and reached 87.2 per cent of first-quarter 2019 level. Growth was mainly driven by exports of services and steady private consumption and gross fixed capital formation.

Exports of gaming services and other tourism services increased by 62.7 per cent and 14.8 per cent, respectively. GDP at current prices dropped by 2.7 per cent to MOP104.8bn. The implicit deflator of GDP, which measures overall price changes, increased by 2.3 per cent year-on-year to a reading of 106.8.

During the first three months of the year, Macau collected MOP22.92bn ($2.84bn) in taxes from casino operations. The figure was up 116.8 per cent when compared to the same period last year. In March, the Macau government collected MOP7.12bn ($882.71m), up 77.26 per cent.

Cumulatively, Macau’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) for the first quarter of the year was MOP$57.3bn (US$7.11bn), up 65.5 per cent year-on-year and implying a full-year run rate of around MOP$229.2bn (US$28.4bn).  During the same period, the city received nearly 9 million visitors, up by 80 per cent compared to the same period last year.