Lawmaker Dominic Sio Chi Wai said on Monday that he believed that the recovery of gaming revenues will help boost Macau’s imports.
Sio made these remarks while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the general meeting of the Macau Importers and Exporters Association on its premises in the city centre.
Sio, who chairs the association’s board of directors, said that the two-year decline in gaming revenues had caused a decrease in the amount of goods, particularly expensive and luxury goods, imported by the city.
The government-appointed lawmaker said that as gaming revenues had started to rise again, he believed that it would help boost the city’s imports.
Monthly gaming revenues started to grow again – 1.1 per cent year-on-year – last month after a drop during 26 consecutive months.
According to the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC), Macau’s imports dropped 5.9 per cent to 84.7 billion patacas last year. Imports stood at 39.2 billion patacas in the first seven months of this year, down 21.3 per cent year-on-year.
Sio also said that the number of “middle-class” visitors to the city from the mainland had been increasing, adding that this was beneficial to the sales of expensive and luxury goods here.
Sio urged local companies to adopt a new mindset in accordance with the changes in the market.
(Macau News / The Macau Post Daily)
