Results of the 2nd Quarter 2006 Estimates of the Expenditure-based Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) releases information on the expenditure-based GDP for the second quarter of 2006 as follows. The growth rates in this release refer to the real growth rates of the reference period over the same period of the previous year, unless otherwise specified. In the second quarter, gross gaming receipts went up 11.0% in nominal terms when compared with the same quarter of last year; and investment grew rapidly on the back of several large-scale construction projects in progress. Total visitor spending (excluding gaming expenses) rose 15.7% upon increases in the number of arrivals and per-capita spending of visitors. Exports of goods rose further, with a real growth of 43.7%. Estimated from all relevant data, GDP growth in the second quarter was 16.3% in real terms. Besides, the growth in the first quarter was revised upwards, from 18.8% to 19.2%. In terms of major GDP components, private consumption expenditure in the second quarter of 2006 increased 6.5%, slightly lower than the 7.0% in the first quarter. Household final consumption expenditure in the domestic market rose 7.6% while that abroad fell 2.2%. Government final consumption expenditure increased 5.1%, higher than the 1.1% in the first quarter. Compensation of employees was up 4.4% and net purchases of goods and services rose 7.4%. Gross fixed capital formation, a gauge of investment, showed a sustained robust expansion and rose substantially by 54.8%, lower than the 67.2% in the first quarter. In the private sector, total investment recorded an increase of 61.5% mainly because investment in construction surged 84.8%; investment in equipment rose 20.5%. On the other hand, total government investment dropped 4.2%, in which investment in construction and in equipment decreased 3.0% and 15.0% respectively. Based on the data of the private sector and the government, total investment in construction expanded 72.5% in the second quarter of 2006, lower than the 94.9% in the first quarter; total investment in equipment increased 19.4%, higher than the 18.6% in the first quarter. In terms of visible trade, growth in exports of goods expanded from 36.4% in the first quarter to 43.3% in nominal terms, or from 36.9% to 43.7% in real terms. In nominal terms, exports of goods to the United States and the European Union grew 42.4% and 212.7% respectively. Total import value of goods surged 34.1% and 28.6% in nominal and real terms respectively, both higher than the corresponding 32.6% and 28.0% in the first quarter. As regards invisible trade (exports of services), exports of gaming services rose 10.0%; total visitor spending increased 15.7% as a result of rises of 15.9% and 10.0% recorded respectively in the number of visitor arrivals and per-capita spending of visitors (excluding gaming expenses); exports of other services also posted a double-digit growth. Based on integrated data of the exports of services, total exports of invisible trade recorded an increase of 12.1%, a growth slightly lower than the 16.0% in the first quarter. Moreover, imports of services grew 14.9%, higher than the 12.4% in the first quarter.