Three lawmakers have raised concerns over the state of Macao’s small business sector. They each called on the government to better support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the city, citing examples of assistance schemes being used successfully elsewhere, the Macau Daily Times reports.
Ip Sio Kai, Ella Lei and Ngan Iek Hang all addressed the matter at a Legislative Assembly session earlier in the week, where they described Macao’s SMEs as struggling to survive in the current economic climate.
Ip proposed implementing a “ticket economy” system, the Times said, that could see visitors with tickets to Macao events entitled to discounts on purchases made while in the SAR.
Lei suggested launching more and longer community consumption schemes – which have seen positive results city-wide and when focused on specific districts. These use e-coupons redeemable at local retailers to encourage residents to spend more in Macao instead of heading to the mainland, where prices tend to be cheaper.
[See more: Macao lawmakers question pace of non-gaming investments by casino operators]
Lei also urged the government to pressure Macao’s six gaming concessionaires to organise more large-scale events across the city in order to attract more high-value visitors. Under their current contracts, the concessionaires are required to invest heavily in non-gambling activities that support Macao’s economic diversification; the likes of concerts, residency shows and MICE events fall under this category.
Ngan, meanwhile, called for a prompt review of recent consumer rewards programmes and the development of more effective strategies to boost local consumption, according to the Times.
Gross domestic product in Macao shrank by 1.3 percent year-on-year in real terms in the first quarter of 2025, a figure the government attributed in part to weakened spending sentiment among visitors. Per-capita spending exclusive of gaming was down 13.2 percent when compared with the first three months of 2024 thanks to changing consumption patterns, visitor demographics and economic headwinds battering the mainland (by far Macao’s biggest source of visitors).
Smaller local businesses have been suffering as a result. Their woes have been compounded by the ever-increasing popularity of online shopping from the likes of Taobao and new border policies making it easier for Macao residents to do their shopping in the mainland.
