According to Moody’s Investor Service, Macau’s economy could return to pre-pandemic levels by 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Macau.- Moody’s Investor Service has said that it believes\u00a0Macau\u2019s economy could rebound <\/strong>to\u00a0pre-Covid-19 levels by 2024<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Analysts said that although the\u00a0special administrative region\u2019s (SAR) economy has been seriously hit<\/strong>\u00a0by the Covid-19 pandemic, Macau maintains strong sovereign finances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moody’s has given Macau an Aa3 rating<\/strong>, which means it is subject to very low credit risk<\/strong>. It said: “The growth volatility of Macau\u2019s economy is among the highest of all rated sovereigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut despite the highly volatile nature of economic growth, Macao\u2019s vast fiscal and external reserves \u2014 significantly stronger than those of similarly rated peers<\/strong> \u2014 and very high per capita incomes continue to support its credit profile.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, analysts say Macau’s recovery is highly\u00a0dependent on a full return of tourist arrivals<\/strong>, but the number of visitors is expected to remain at about 60 per cent of pre-pandemic levels through the second half of the year 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Macau’s tourists<\/a>\u00a0come mainly from mainland China and Hong Kong, but currently, Macau only has a form of travel bubble with China. It requires a\u00a014-day quarantine<\/a>\u00a0for arrivals from Hong Kong.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fitch Ratings Inc has previously predicted Macau\u2019s economy<\/a> could rebound by 53 per cent this year, helped by strong gaming and tourism recovery in the second half of 2021<\/strong> if travel restrictions between mainland China and Macau are eased in the months ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A gradual roll-out of Covid-19 vaccination programmes<\/a>, combined with a quarantine-free travel bubble<\/strong> will also play a key role in Macau\u2019s economic recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, Macau chief executive Ho Ian Seng has recently said for now there are no plans to relax restrictions on non-resident foreigners<\/strong> entering Macau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Analysts have suggested Macau should include requirements in the city\u2019s gaming licence criteria to promote the diversification of\u00a0Macau\u2019s economy<\/a>, because it is \u201cexcessively dependent on tourism and gaming,\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Census and Statistics Service has reported that the\u00a0total spending of visitors (excluding gaming expenses) increased by 23.5 per cent<\/strong>\u00a0year-on-year to MOP6.18bn in the first quarter of 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Authorities also revealed\u00a0that total spending of overnight visitors rose by 48.0 per cent year-on-year\u00a0<\/strong>to MOP5.59bn, while that of same-day visitors dropped by 52.1 per cent to MOP589m.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMacau visitor spending up 23.5% in Q1<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n