Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Macao in the second quarter of 2017 expanded by 11.5% year-on-year in real terms, higher than the 10.3% rise in the first quarter. The economic growth was attributable to the increases in exports of services and private consumption. External demand continued to expand, driving exports of services up by 18.8% year-on-year, in which exports of gaming services and other tourism services grew by 19.0% and 22.1% respectively; exports of goods edged up by 0.5%. Domestic demand rose steadily, as private consumption and imports of goods increased by 3.4% and 2.4% respectively year-on-year, but both government final consumption expenditure and investment decreased by 2.4%. Meanwhile, the implicit deflator of GDP, which measures the overall changes in prices, went up by 2.2% year-on-year.
Private consumption expenditure saw larger increase. Stable economic conditions, easing inflation and favourable employment situation drove private consumption expenditure up by 3.4% year-on-year, higher than the 1.6% rise in the first quarter. Household final consumption expenditure in the domestic market and abroad increased by 2.5% and 5.0% respectively.
Government final consumption expenditure diminished, falling by 2.4% year-on-year, in contrast to the 4.8% increase in the first quarter, which was mainly due to the considerable decrease of 11.0% in net purchases of goods and services; meanwhile, compensation of employees grew by 2.7%.
Investment slowed down. Along with the successive completion of large-scale tourism and entertainment facilities, gross fixed capital formation, the gauge of investment, contracted by 2.4% year-on-year, far lower than the 7.1% growth in the previous quarter. Private investment fell by 8.8% year-on-year, as private construction investment and equipment investment dropped by 7.3% and 20.2% respectively. Government investment grew significantly by 73.1% due to an 84.1% surge in public construction investment, but public equipment investment went down by 11.3%.
Merchandise trade continued to grow. Rises in private consumption and visitors’ spending pushed up exports and imports of goods by 0.5% and 2.4% respectively year-on-year.
Service trade recorded accelerated growth. Increased visitor arrivals and higher visitors’ spending drove the year-on-year growth rate of total exports of services up from 13.4% in the first quarter to 18.8% in the second quarter. Exports of gaming services and other tourism services went up by 19.0% and 22.1% respectively, higher than the respective growth of 11.3% and 20.9% in the previous quarter. Meanwhile, imports of services increased by 15.1% year-on-year, higher than the 12.5% rise in the first quarter.
For the first half of 2017, the economy of Macao grew by 10.9% in real terms. In terms of the major expenditure components of GDP, private consumption expenditure, government final consumption expenditure and investment rose by 2.5%, 0.9% and 1.8% respectively year-on-year; exports and imports of goods increased by 5.5% and 3.8% respectively; meanwhile, exports and imports of services went up by 16.0% and 13.8% respectively, with exports of gaming services and other tourism services rising by 15.0% and 21.5% respectively.