Coronavirus: Macau will be in the red for first time since handover as gaming revenue plummets amid pandemic, its leader says
- Ho Iat-seng says pandemic has exposed the ‘vulnerability and risks’ of Macau economy’s overreliance on gaming tourism
- The coronavirus situation in Macau is now ‘under control’ and border restrictions may be eased soon to allow visitors
Ho Iat-seng, who was sworn in as the city’s chief executive last December, however said the coronavirus situation in Macau was now “basically under control” and revealed plans to ease some border restrictions to boost the city’s tourism by next month.
Making his maiden policy address at the legislature on Monday, the lawmaker-turned-chief executive said: “Because of the use of countercyclical fiscal measures … to assure jobs, stabilise economy and safeguard people’s livelihood … this year we will see for the first time since the [1999] handover a deficit.”
He said the government would spend more than 50 billion patacas (US$6.27 billion)– about 12 per cent of its GDP – in relief measures to ease the impacts of the pandemic on the people’s livelihood and the businesses, including giving out shopping vouchers worth a total of 8,000 patacas to its residents and waiving electricity and water bills for three months.
These were in addition to a cash handout of 10,000 patacas for each permanent resident and 6,000 patacas for each non-permanent resident to be given away this month.
Ho also noted that the pandemic had exposed the “vulnerability and risks” of Macau economy’s overreliance on gaming tourism.