The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, today said the Government was confident the city’s economy would register modest growth this year.

Speaking to reporters this morning, Mr Leong said the Government’s forecast was subject to a number of domestic and external factors; the latter including possible changes to currency exchange rates that might have an impact on export markets around the world.

Reviewing Macao’s 2016 economic performance, he said the first half had continued a downward trend seen in 2015, while the second half had recorded a relatively stable performance, narrowing 2016’s overall year-on-year decline.

The Secretary praised the economic effort of the business sector and of the community as a whole, particularly during the adjustment period of the gaming industry from the second half of 2014 to the first half of 2016. Such effort had helped enhance Macao’s overall competitiveness and the city’s ability to face challenges, Mr Leong added.

When asked to comment on reported year-on-year decreases in the number of gaming workers, Mr Leong said change in human resource requirements in integrated resorts was a normal phenomenon. This applied in particular during the adjustment period of the gaming industry in the first half of 2016, and following the launch of more non-gaming elements in local resorts.

The Government had stepped up efforts to maintain the current high employment rate, encouraging local resorts to improve employees’ opportunities for horizontal mobility – i.e., reassignment – thus improving career planning procedures relating to local employees.