Economy grows 1.6 pct in Macau

Economic growth slowed down in Macau as gross domestic product was up by 1.6% during the third quarter of 2018.

Macau.- The Statistics and Census Service of Macau (DSEC) released last Monday a full report on the Chinese city’s economic development showing that gaming and tourism industries have contributed with a general increase in Macau’s numbers. The report states that Macau’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 1.6% year-on-year during the third quarter of 2018.

“The economy grew at a slower pace, mainly due to a continuous decline in construction investment and a notable slowdown in growth of exports of services [where the gambling industry is counted],” the statistics bureau said in Wednesday’s release. Furthermore, it explained that service trade was the major driving force for economic growth, up 6.3%.

The release showed that, in comparison to the second quarter of 2018, exports of gaming services grew by 5.8% and other tourism services grew by 11.4%. Furthermore, it added that the territory’s GDP grew by 5.6% during the three quarters of 2018, with exports of gaming services went up 11.7% while other tourism services grew 12.6%.

According to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Autumn World Economic Outlook, GDP growth this year and the next is projected to be 6.3%, down from the 9.1% recorded in 2017. Furthermore, it expects mainland China to slow down as well to 6.2%, 0.4% less than the 6.2% shown last year, following a continent-wide trend which will only have India and the Philippines showing slightly stronger growth.