Macau’s economy dipped to its lowest since 2011 as high-end gamblers avoided the world’s largest casino market amid a widening crackdown on graft in China.
The city where gambling accounts for four-fifths of economic output saw GDP tumble 26.4 percent in the last quarter, according to government data released Monday. The drop worsened from 24.5 percent in the first quarter.
The decline would take Macau’s GDP to about 77.5 billion patacas ($9.7 billion) at constant prices, making it the weakest since early 2011.
The only Chinese city where casinos are legal, Macau has seen gross gaming revenue plunge 14 straight months due to the central government’s corruption crackdown that kept high-stakes bettors at bay. China’s slowing economy has further curbed visits by mass market gamblers and tourists...
The government is due as early as Tuesday to report that the gaming slump deepened in August to a 37.8 percent drop, according to the median estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. That would reverse a gradual easing since February that had given hopes the industry was recovering...its economy fared worse than crisis and debt-laden Greece in recent months...Package group tours from mainland China fell 19 percent in July from a year ago, even as the number of hotel rooms in the former Portuguese enclave increased 7.2 percent to 30,000, according to official data Monday.
(via David Stockman)
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