Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, speaks to reporters.
The Government was confident the public finances would be in surplus by the end of this year, said today the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac. The Government expected casino gross gaming revenue in 2016 would be around 200 billion patacas, a 13.4 percent decline compared to the 230.84 billion patacas recorded in 2015. The decline in gaming revenue for the first five months of 2016 had narrowed in year-on-year terms and was within the Government’s expectations for 2016, said the Secretary. The aggregate contraction in such revenue in the first quarter was 13.3 percent judged year-on-year. In the four months to the end of April and in the five months to the end of May respectively, the year-on-year decline had narrowed, to 12.4 percent and 11.9 percent. The Secretary made the comments to reporters after the opening ceremony of the Fourth Annual Conference of World Cultural Forum (Taihu, China), held in Macao. Mr Leong noted that gaming revenue for June was typically lower – judged month-on-month – than that recorded in May. The Secretary also commented on recent cases of irregular fundraising activities by unlicensed parties. Such instances would not affect the stability of Macao’s financial system: most of the loans by official lenders were secured debt. The Government had been liaising closely with the financial sector regarding the latest developments in the city’s economy. Mr Leong said that any loan of money required a cautious evaluation of risk, especially during the adjustment period undergone by the city’s gaming industry, when the value of assets – such as property – had the potential to fall. Regarding penalties for unlicensed fundraising activities, the Secretary said the community needed to recognise the need for balance in the legal system in relation to what degree – if any – public harm was likely to occur. The Secretary noted that the Government was paying close attention to public opinion regarding the issue of unlicensed fundraising.