The University of Macau’s (UM) Centre for Macau Studies and Department of Economics today (14 January) held an event to release the 2020 macroeconomic forecast for Macao and an opening ceremony for the Macao Economic Database. Statistics show that Macao’s economy continued to deteriorate in 2019 amid the economic slowdown in mainland China. Negative growth was recorded for three consecutive quarters. The year-on-year growth rates were -3.8% in the first quarter, -2.2% in the second quarter and -4.5% in the third quarter, respectively (Figure 1 and 2).
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Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Tourist Price Index (TPI) for the fourth quarter of 2019 decreased by 0.22% year-on-year to 139.50, on account of lower hotel room rates and falling prices of handbags and clothing; yet, rising charges for restaurant services as well as dearer prices of gold jewellery and local food products offset part of the decrease. Among the various sections of goods and services, price indices of Clothing & Footwear (-5.87%) and Accommodation (-2.39%) dropped significantly, while the indices of Food, Alcoholic Beverages & Tobacco (+3.04%), Entertainment & Cultural Activities (+3.02%), Miscellaneous Goods (+2.59%) and Restaurant Services (+2.29%) saw year-on-year increases.
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The 19^th Macao City Fringe Festival, organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC, from its Portuguese acronym), continues to present more exciting programmes this week under the theme “Boundless creation will show you around!”, guiding the audience on a journey full of fantasy through the streets and alleys of Macao. More intriguing performances will be presented in the “Puppet and Object Theatre Festival in Coloane”, featuring a rich variety of programmes for the audience in the weekend. Limited tickets are available for some of the programmes and interested parties are advised to purchase tickets as soon as possible.
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To further promote the community’s concern about integrity education, foster educational and professional exchanges and improve the quality of integrity education, the CCAC launches the “Integrity Lesson Plan Design Collection Activity” for all teaching staff and higher education students in Macao.
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The Government is dedicating further effort to enhancing Macao’s legal framework and supervision capabilities in relation to optimising operation of a bond market in Macao.
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