Macao's GDP down 7.1% in second quarter

MACAO - Macao's gross domestic product (GDP) shrank 7.1 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2016, with improvement from the first quarter's 13.3-percent contraction, the Macao Special Administrative Region's statistic service said on Wednesday.

The Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) said in a report that the contraction is mainly attributed to declines in service exports and investment, as well as a lower base of comparison in the previous year.

External demand remained weak as exports of goods fell by 24.7 percent year-on-year, similar to the first quarter's 24.6 percent falling. Exports of gaming industry and tourism services dropped by 12.0 percent and 7.4 percent respectively, showing signs of improvement compared with the declines rate in the first quarter's 17.1 percent and 11 percent.

The report also said Macao residents tended to be cautious with their spending during the period of economic adjustment.

Private consumption dropped by 2.2 percent year-on-year, similar to the rate in the first quarter's 2.3 percent. Expenditure on durable goods showed notable decline, revealing that households were relatively careful with spending on non-essential items.

The first and the second quarter's contractions added up to 10.3 percent slide of Macao's economy in the first half of the year.