Gaming revenue in Macau has been relatively flat this year, compared to initial expectations, but this doesn’t mean that the gambling city has fallen into a slump. There is still a lot of positive growth coming and this can be seen in the amount of money injected through investments. According to a report from Macau’s Statistics and Census Service (DSEC, for its Portuguese acronym), inward direct investments – money that comes into the city from outside entities – reached $2.36 billion last year.
The total amount of inward investments for last year was $3.32 billion – an increase of $435.77 million from a year earlier. With what was taken in by the gaming sector, it remains the biggest contributor to Macau’s economy across all sectors and captured 70.8% of the entire investment amount. The DSEC adds that the investments targeted 11 gaming entities, representing 87,000 full-time employees.
Income from those investments reached $8.95 billion, a year-on-year increase of 18.8%. Of that, income from investments in the gaming sector jumped 15% year-on-year. Stock from the overall investment picture climbed to $36 billion, of which the gaming industry controlled around 45.3%.
Other types of inward investments didn’t see any growth. The real estate development sector saw a decline of 8% and the retail sector had a drop of 6.6%. They only took $510 million and $463 million, respectively.
Inward investments weren’t the only type that increased last year, as local companies were also looking to see where best to park some of their funds overseas. Outward direct investments by Macau entities reached $274.84 million, an increase of 22.3% from the 2017 figure. Gaming entities invested around $127.5 million of that amount. The DSEC indicates that only four gaming entities made outward investments last year.
The department explains of its calculations and analysis:
“Direct Investment Statistics provide an analysis of the direct investment profile of Macao with other economies. For statistical purposes, mainland China and Macao are considered as two economies. The statistics covers Macao enterprises engaging in Industrial Production; Construction; Wholesale & Retail; Hotels & Restaurants; Transport, Storage & Communications; Financial Activities; Gaming; Real Estate Development, Leasing & Sale Activities; and Other Services; however, personal investment and investment of enterprises operating in other industries not specified above are excluded.”
