Macau’s economy could rebound 46% in 2023, according to Fitch Ratings

The rating agency believes gross gaming revenue in Macau will recover to half of pre-pandemic levels.

Macau.- Andrew Fennell, Fitch’s head of Greater China sovereigns, has issued a report suggesting that Macau’s economy could rebound by 46 per cent in gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023. This is based on an assumption that gross gaming revenue will recover to half its pre-pandemic level with an easing of mainland travel restrictions boosting the mass market.

However, Macau’s GDP would remain below 2018 levels. Fitch predicts that GDP will not recover to 2019 levels until at least the end of 2025, with a modest non-gaming diversification.

In the third quarter of the year, Macau’s real GDP was down by 33.4 per cent year-on-year. That was a slight improvement on a 39.3 per cent decline in the second quarter.

In April, Fitch affirmed Macau’s ‘AA/Stable’ rating but in its recent report, Fennell noted that the rating could be at risk of falling if the gaming industry fails to recover in the medium term.

Elsie Ao Ieong: Macau cannot remain closed to the world

Elsie Ao Ieong U, Macau’s secretary for social affairs and culture said the city will undergo a ‘gradual opening up’ to emerge from China’s Zero-Covid policy. For nearly three years, Macau has been effectively closed to visitors other than from China.

Speaking to the media, Ao Ieong said: “At this moment, the community is going to face the outbreak, and we will have an increase in the number of cases in the city. We have to prepare ourselves for these positive cases to appear in the community.”

She said it was impossible for Macau to remain shut to the outside world and stressed. Nevertheless, she sounded a note of caution, noting that future measures must not allow a widespread outbreak to occur. She said authorities hoped that the citizens could understand the characteristics of the Covid-19 pandemic.