Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, meets the press.
The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, said today the year-on-year fall in casino gaming revenue recorded in November was in line with the Government’s expectation. The Secretary made the comment this morning after the swearing-in of the new Director of the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, Mr Paulo Martins Chan. According to official data released by the Bureau today, casino gaming revenue in November amounted to 16.425 billion patacas. Mr Leong noted that November was usually the weakest month of the year for casino gaming revenue. In the past few years, November had registered casino gaming revenue tallies that were between 3 billion patacas and 6 billion patacas lower than the preceding month, he said. Casino gaming revenue in October this year was approximately 20 billion patacas, he noted. Mr Leong said the Government would continue to pay close attention to the jobs market during the ongoing period of gaming consolidation, noting that the unemployment rate had slightly increased so far this year to 1.9 percent from 1.7 percent. Given the stable employment opportunities available in Macao and the local business environment, the Government expected the unemployment rate would stay within 2 percent in the coming year, he said. Regarding Macao’s gross domestic product, he said the Government expected it would drop 20 percent in full-year 2015 compared to last year, due to the year-on-year reduction in revenue from the gaming industry. The Secretary said the inclusion of China’s currency – the yuan – in the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket, with effect from 1 October, 2016, would be a positive factor for the country’s further integration in the global economy. The influence of this development on Macao could not be precisely measured at the moment, said Mr Leong. Macao’s currency – the pataca – is indirectly pegged to the U.S. dollar via an association with the Hong Kong dollar. The Macao Government would closely monitor any fluctuation in relevant exchange rates and analyse their short- and long-term influence on Macao, said Mr Leong, noting that goods in Macao were mainly imported from the mainland. Regarding recent mention – during discussion in the Legislative Assembly of the Government’s Policy Address for Fiscal Year 2016 – of the possibility of issuing “consumption vouchers” in order to boost the local economy, the Secretary said the Government would closely study the possibility. He said matters such as the usage, distribution, possible beneficiaries and cost to public funds of such a scheme, would have to be clearly defined.