The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen, said today he expected Macao’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would grow by more than 15 per cert this year. Mr Tam was speaking to reporters at a seminar on Macao’s role as the economic co-operation and trading platform between China and Portuguese-speaking countries. It was announced last week that Macao’s GDP jumped by 26.1 per cent in the first half of this year. Mr Tam said taking global economic slowdown into account, he expected Macao’s economic growth rate to shrink this year, but it would still reach 15 per cent. Speaking about the gaming industry, Mr Tam said the current restructure was necessary as it would give the city an opportunity to ensure its facilities, including the transport network and human resources, to keep pace with the gaming industry. He said he also expected gaming revenue to drop in the third quarter. Speaking on the employment of imported workers by gaming companies, Mr Tam said the Government had sent the Legislative Assembly a draft bill on imported workers, which, if passed, would require employers to pay a levy for employing imported workers, while the number of imported workers could not exceed a certain ratio. He also disclosed that the Government was studying plans submitted by six gaming operators on promoting more local workers.
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