The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released the summary of the expenditure-based GDP for the first quarter of 2008. The rates of change mentioned in the text refer to the year-on-year change in real terms, unless otherwise specified. In the first quarter of 2008, performance of the gaming sector continued to stay vibrant, with gross gaming revenue (excluding gratuities) soaring substantially by 61.8% in nominal terms compared with the same quarter of 2007, while total visitor spending (excluding gaming expenses) rose slightly by 4.3%; gross fixed capital formation dropped by 17.6% upon successive completion of large-scale construction projects, and exports of goods fell by 11.2%. Taking all relevant data together, GDP for the first quarter of 2008 expanded by 31.6% in real terms, higher than the 22.1% growth in the fourth quarter of 2007. In terms of major GDP components, private consumption expenditure in the first quarter of 2008 increased by 9.6%, lower than the 9.7% growth in the previous quarter. Household final consumption expenditure in the domestic market rose by 8.6%, while that abroad fell slightly by 1.7%, with the expenditure in Mainland China amounting to MOP 606 million. Government final consumption expenditure increased by 16.1%, lower than the 19.5% growth in the previous quarter, with compensation of employees going up by 4.7% and net purchases of goods and services rising notably by 165.4%. Gross fixed capital formation, a gauge of investment, fell by 17.6%, decreasing further from the 11.9% drop in the previous quarter. In the private sector, total investment declined by 17.7%, mainly attributable to a 20.5% decrease in construction investment and a 9.3% drop in equipment investment. Total government investment advanced by 22.4%, in which construction investment grew by 58.4%, while that in equipment fell by 21.0%. Integrating data on both sectors, overall investment in construction decreased by 20.3% in the first quarter of 2008, slowing further from the 18.3% drop in the previous quarter; overall investment in equipment fell by 9.4%, which was the first quarterly decrease since the third quarter of 2003. In terms of visible trade, total value of exports of goods declined by 7.1% in nominal terms and 11.2% in real terms, manifesting that the increase in the fourth quarter of 2007 was just a seasonal rebound. Analyzed by major destinations, merchandise exports to the United States, the European Union and Mainland China went down by 3.6%, 32.3% and 33.1% respectively in nominal terms. Total value of imports of goods increased by 11.0% in nominal terms, but registered zero growth in real terms due to rising prices of imports, lower than the corresponding growth of 17.6% in nominal terms and 10.6% in real terms in the previous quarter. As regards invisible trade (exports of services), exports of gaming services surged remarkably by 62.5%; total visitor spending (excluding gaming expenses) rose slightly by 4.3% as the 15.1% rise in the Tourist Price Index had partly offset the increases in the number of visitor arrivals and the respective per-capita spending. Integrating the principal data on the exports of services, overall exports of services recorded an increase of 46.3%, higher than the 34.5% growth in the previous quarter; moreover, imports of services grew by 40.4%, higher than 31.3% growth in the previous quarter.
Is there anything wrong with this page?