Newly published official figures show that inward direct investment flows in Macao totalled 13.07 billion patacas in 2023, a 57.2 percent year-on-year drop – and down 76 percent when compared with pre-pandemic 2019.
According to the Statistics and Census Service (known by its Portuguese initials DSEC), the annual decrease was the result of large financial companies incorporating in the SAR, and the fact that casino operators substantially increased their capital in 2022 in preparation for the concession tendering process that took place that year.
By industry, most direct investment flowed into the financial sector: 7.77 billion patacas. The wholesale and retail trade received 6.43 billion patacas. The largest source was the British Virgin Islands, with 10.92 billion patacas, followed by Hong Kong with 6.9 billion patacas.
[See more: Fitch Ratings expects ‘solid economic expansion’ in Macao]
At the end of 2023, the total stock of inward direct investment totalled 383.12 billion patacas, up by 4.2 percent year-on-year and 10.5 percent when compared with 2019. Investment in the casino sector amounted to 142.52 billion, while the financial sector, and wholesale and retail sector, had investments of 131.11 billion and 42.44 billion patacas respectively. The three sectors saw respective increases of 0.6 percent, 7.2 percent and 14.5 percent.
Analysed by the immediate source of investment, Hong Kong (101.13 billion patacas), the Chinese mainland (87.24 billion patacas) and the British Virgin Islands (84.94 billion patacas) showed respective growth of 6.1 percent, 2.3 percent and 18.3 percent year-on-year.
Outward direct investment flows from Macao enterprises meanwhile totalled 341 million patacas in 2023, a decline of 95.7 percent year-on-year.
