Macao’s economy could rebound by up to 65 percent this year, according to a recent report by credit rating agency Fitch Ratings – which had forecast a more modest 46 percent back in December last year, the Macau Daily Times reports.
The 19 percentage point increase was due to the SAR’s better-than-expected gaming and tourism sector recoveries, and comes amid China’s faltering economic performance.
The report, titled Asia-Pacific Sovereigns – Peer Review, predicted that growth “will remain robust at 17 percent” for 2024 – when gaming revenue could hit 80 percent of its 2019 level.
[See more: Macao’s consumers have regained their confidence, narrowly]
Gross gaming revenue (GGR) has likely already surpassed the government’s 130 billion patacas target for 2023. At the end of September, accumulated GGR stood at 128.95 billion patacas. Earlier this week, JP Morgan estimated that the Mid-Autumn and National Holiday raked in about 6.65 billion patacas.
Fitch Ratings has previously said it believed Gross Domestic Product (GDP) could return to 2019 levels by the end of 2025 – accompanied by “moderate non-gaming diversification.”
Macao’s GDP for 2022 amounted to about 177.3 billion patacas. Pre-pandemic, in 2019, it came in at 434.7 billion patacas – with per capita GDP standing at 645,438 patacas.
