Macau Economy

Macau’s booming tourism and casino industry has been inviting foreign investments which have helped it in becoming one of the renowned gaming centers of the world. In 2006, the revenue earned from gaming in Macau surpassed that of Las Vegas, and all taxes associated with gaming amounted to almost 75% of government revenue. The relaxation of travel restrictions coupled with the growth in the gaming segment resulted in nearly 27 million travelers visiting China in 2007, an increase of almost 62% over the preceding three years. Macau’s traditional textile industry has gradually shifted base to China due to termination of the Multi-Fiber Agreement in 2005. The Closer Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) signed between Macau and China allows tariff free movement of goods from Macau to mainland China. Pataca, the currency of Macau is closely connected with Hong Kong dollar and is freely accepted in Honk Kong.

Economic activities of Macau

Services activities dominated by tourism and gambling contribute nearly 96% towards its GDP (gross domestic product). Wholesale and retail trade, financial services, construction, and transport and communications are the other tertiary sector activities.

The industrial sector is dominated by electronics, footwear, textiles and toy manufacturing facilities. Industries or secondary economic activities constitute almost 4% of GDP.

The contribution of agriculture to Macau’s economy is negligible. With only 2% of total area of Macau under agricultural use, the contribution of this sector towards GDP is around 0.1%. Apart from vegetable farming, fishing is a vital primary economic activity.

Textiles, toys, electronic goods, footwear, and machinery items are the main exports of Macau. The imports include food materials, beverages, tobacco, oil, semi-finished commodities, capital goods, oil and mineral fuels. China, Hong Kong, USA, UK, Japan, Germany and Chile are the notable trade partners of Macau.

Economic parameters of Macau

The following are some of the key economic parameters of Macau:

• GDP based on purchasing power parity (ppp) – US $12.5 billion
• GDP calculated at official exchange rate – US $14.3 billion
• Per capita GDP (ppp) – US $ 28,400
• Real growth rate of GDP – 16.6%
• Total revenues- US $4.6 billion
• Total expenditure – US $3.4 billion
• Export earnings – US $2.557 billion f.o.b. (free on board)
• Import expenditure – US $4.559 billion c.i.f. (cost inclusive of freight)
• Electricity consumption – 2.37 billion kWh
• Oil consumption – 13,920 bbl (billion barrels) per day
• Currency – Pataca

All figures are based on year 2006.