Economy of Macau

Regency Macau Hotel The economy of Macau is based largely on tourism (including gambling) and textile and fireworks manufacturing. Efforts to diversify have spawned other small industries - toys, artificial flowers, and electronics.

The tourist sector, specailly the hotel industry, has accounted for roughly 25% of GDP, and the clothing industry has provided about three-fourths of export earnings; the gambling industry probably represents over 40% of GDP.

More than 8 million tourists visited Macau in 2000. Although the recent growth in gambling and tourism has been driven primarily by mainland Chinese, tourists from Hong Kong remain the most numerous.

The casino industry, the linchpin of the economy, has been controlled by the Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau (STDM) monopoly for the last 39 years. That changee in 2001 when casino licenses were offered to other casino operators.

Macau's economy depends on mainland China for most of its food, fresh water, and energy imports. Japan and Hong Kong are the main suppliers of raw materials and capital goods.

Output dropped 4% in 1998 and the economy remained weak in 1999. Macau reverted to Chinese administration on December 20, 1999.

Over the longer term, the relocation of manufacturing operations from Macau to the neighboring Chinese province of Guangdong will extend to textiles and garment production as China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) gives the mainland increased direct access to international markets.

Mainland competition, along with the phasing out of Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA) quotas, which provide a near guarantee of export markets, over the next few years, will eventually spell the end of Macau's low-end mass production of textiles, which comprise the bulk of the SAR's merchandise export earnings.

The best economic opportunities may lie in providing services - shipping, finance, legal - to facilitate mainland exports through Macau to the rest of the world, and conversely inflows of goods and investment to the mainland.

Tourism, building on current gambling tourism, is expected to be an important area of potential economic growth and foreign-exchange earnings.

From Wikipedia - Macau Economy

Keywords: economy, tourism, gambling, flowers, garments, services