Macao’s finance secretary, Tai Kin Ip, has cautioned that government revenues this year may fall short of initial forecasts due to lower-than-expected gross gaming revenue (GGR).
In remarks cited by Macau Post Daily, Tai noted that the average monthly GGR for the first three months of the year was 19.219 billion patacas, slightly above last year’s figures but below the 20 billion pataca monthly target. The Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (known by its Portuguese initials DICJ) reported a total GGR of 57.657 billion patacas for the first quarter, a mere 0.6 percent increase from the same period last year.
Tai emphasized that while Macao has seen a rise in visitor arrivals, boosted by favorable central government policies, including new travel permit measures for Zhuhai and Hengqin residents, visitor per-capita spending has declined by 14.6 percent.
In the first two months of the year, Macao recorded 6.79 million visitor arrivals, a 10.4 percent year-on-year increase, with foreign visitors rising by 19.5 percent and hotel occupancy reaching 90.7 percent. However, the drop in per-capita spending to 2,157 patacas indicates a significant shift in consumption patterns, impacting the city’s tourism revenue.
[See more: Macao’s gross gaming revenue remains flat in March]
The government’s 2025 budget bill, passed by the legislature last year, projected a GGR of 240 billion patacas, or 20 billion patacas per month, a figure that is crucial as it constitutes the main source of budgeted government revenues.
However, actual figures have fallen short, with only May and October 2024 exceeding this mark since Macao’s post-Covid-19 recovery. The DICJ website shows that GGR in January, February, and March this year stood at 18.254 billion patacas, 19.744 billion patacas, and 19.659 billion patacas, respectively, all below the target.
According to Macau Post Daily, Tai said the government is reassessing its economic situation and will continue to support local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) while advancing economic diversification.
Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai is set to deliver his 2025 policy address on 14 April, where further economic strategies are expected to be outlined.
The first draft of this story was edited by AI for clarity and conciseness, then manually checked by an editor.
