News

Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the economy of the Macao Special Administrative Region (Macao SAR) showed steady and promising growth in the first quarter of 2026, underpinned by a notable increase in exports of services due to surging visitor arrivals amid the Lunar New Year holidays and a series of festive events. The revised figure for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stood at MOP107.56 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up by 7.1% year-on-year in real terms. The overall economic output corresponded to 90.3% of the total in the same period of 2019.
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The Monetary Authority of Macao announced today (15 May) that the preliminary estimate of Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves amounted to MOP232.8 billion (USD28.84 billion) at the end of April 2026. The reserves decreased by 3.9% from the revised value of MOP242.2 billion (USD30.00 billion) for the previous month. Macao SAR’s foreign exchange reserves at end-April 2026 represented 10 times the currency in circulation or 84.7% of the Macao pataca M2 at end-March 2026.
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According to statistics released today (15 May) by the Monetary Authority of Macao, new approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) increased whereas those of commercial real estate loans (CRELs) dropped month-on-month in March 2026. With regard to the outstanding balances, both RMLs and CRELs witnessed declines on a monthly basis.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the average rent per square metre of usable area for residential units decreased by 0.4% quarter-on-quarter to MOP140 in the first quarter of 2026. Besides, the average rents for shops (MOP467), office units (MOP274) and industrial units (MOP117) went down by 1.2%, 1.5% and 2.2% respectively from the previous quarter.
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that number of MICE events remained the same year-on-year, at 425, in the first quarter of 2026. Despite an increase of over 30% in the number of participants of meetings & conferences, the number of participants & attendees of MICE events decreased by 8.7% year-on-year to 181,000 as the number of exhibitions recorded a small drop. Meanwhile, MICE-driven receipts of the non-gaming industries in the Macao Special Administrative Region grew by 29.4% year-on-year to MOP841 million in the first quarter, driven by a rise in the number of non-local participants & attendees.
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According to statistics released today (15 May) by the Monetary Authority of Macao, in the first quarter of 2026, the number and the value of transactions of local mobile payment tools both witnessed growth on an annual basis. Meanwhile, the turnover of credit cards and debit cards both increased from the preceding year.
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In order to commemorate the “World Telecommunication and Information Society Day” (WTISD) established by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the Macau Post and Telecommunications Bureau (CTT) held a commemorative ceremony and thematic seminar at 10:00 am on May 15^th. The Acting Director of CTT, Lao Lan Wa, stated in his speech that the ITU has designated this year’s theme as “Digital lifelines: Strengthening resilience in a connected world”, aiming to convey that reliable and robust digital infrastructure and services are fundamental to the stable functioning of society. It is expected that all parties will join efforts to build more resilient digital lifelines to embrace the opportunities and challenges of a connected world.
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Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) keeps branding Macao as a glamorous luxury travel destination. Debuting in LUXE Asia in Shanghai, Macao won the Award for Asia’s Best Luxury Destination 2026. Targeting the year-on-year surge of 84.5% in Russian visitor arrivals, over 60 luxury buyers were invited to Macao for business matching. Meanwhile, the globally-prestigious Destination Wedding Planners Congress convened in Macao for the first time. A series of strategic initiatives were rolled out to showcase Macao’s diverse “tourism +” appeal and comprehensive capabilities to high-end travelers and industry buyers worldwide, as part of the efforts to diversify the market segments.
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Aiming to deepen Macao students’ understanding of the current landscape of the innovation and technology sector and technology industries in Macao and Hengqin, as well as industry development and employment prospects, the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ) and the Science and Technology Development Fund (FDCT) co-organized two sessions of the “New Opportunities in Innovation and Technology in Macao and Hengqin – Career Planning” seminars recently, attracting nearly 350 teachers and students from 20 schools. This seminar series, now in its third year, continues the collaboration between the DSEDJ and the FDCT on the theme of innovation and technology development in Macao and Hengqin, and has received highly positive feedback from participating teachers and students every year. This reflects the growing awareness of career planning and the increasing interest in the innovation and technology sector among Macao’s secondary school students.
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The inaugural China Rock International Symposium, jointly organised by the Chinese Society for Rock Mechanics & Engineering and the University of Macau (UM), was held at UM. Themed ‘Intelligent Geotechnics for Resilient Coastal Cities’, the symposium brought together around 100 experts, scholars, and engineering professionals from around the world to discuss the latest research in rock mechanics and geotechnical engineering.
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