The local economy is forecast to remain robust in the year ahead, with the Macau Economic Association (MEA) predicting that the city’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2025 will reach a value of 420 billion patacas, an increase of roughly 5 percent year-on-year.
The organisation’s chairman, Lao Chi Ngai, told multiple local media outlets yesterday that the preliminary GDP forecast for 2025 would represent a recovery of 90.8 percent when compared to pre-pandemic 2019.
He added that global inflation is expected to recede next year, while the rate of economic growth is anticipated to be comparatively higher than this year’s.
[See more: Macao’s GDP sees an 11.5 percent rise in the first three quarters]
Although Lao acknowledged that there are still economic uncertainties ahead due to external factors, he mentioned that Macao’s economy has the advantage of adaptability due to its relatively small size.
As for the city’s economic prosperity index over the next several months, the MEA expects the scores to remain in the “stable” category, reaching 6.5 points in December, 6.4 points in January and 6.5 points in February. (The MEA’s index is derived from an analysis of 13 indicators, including visitor numbers, imports, unemployment, the share prices of Macao’s gaming concessionaires and M2 money supply, with most weight given to the latter.)
Regarding the city’s economic performance for full-year 2024, Lao stated that preliminary estimates put GDP at around 402 billion patacas, which would represent a recovery of 86.5 percent against 2019 figures. For the fourth quarter, the city’s GDP is expected to reach 10.1 billion patacas, a year-on-year increase of 4 percent.
