A survey conducted by the private Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) found that Macau’s consumer confidence dropped slightly in the fourth quarter last year, with buying a flat recording a score of 54.89 (out of 200), down from 59.27 in the previous quarter.
Business
The government is confident that Macau’s economy will show positive growth this year, Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On said on Wednesday.
Davis Fong Ka Chio, who heads the Institute for the Study of Commercial Gaming at the University of Macau (UM), said on Tuesday he expected Macau’s gaming revenues to rise by up to 10 per cent this year.
Macau trade deficit improved in the period from January to November 2016, having declined 18.34 per cent to 55,482 patacas (US$6.935 billion), reported the region’s Statistics and Census Bureau.
Macau gambling revenue falls 3.3 per cent in 2016 for the 3rd year in a row.
Macau’s airport reported on Monday a record of 6.6 million passengers last year, with over 56,000 aircraft movements, representing a 14 per cent and 2 per cent year-on-year increase.
Prices in Macau reversed the downward trend observed since last March and rose 1.53 per cent year on year in November, higher than the +1.33 per cent recorded in October, according to information from the Statistics and Census Bureau.
Secretary for Economy and Finance Lionel Leong Vai Tac said on Thursday that Japan’s future casino operations were potentially a threat to the local gaming industry.
Macau and the United States of America have signed an agreement that will require local financial institutions to directly inform the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) about American taxpayers’ bank accounts.