Macao

Economy | Transport

🇲🇴 Macau, also spelled Macao and officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, is a city and special administrative region of the People's Republic of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. It is the most densely populated region in the world.

Formerly a Portuguese colony, the territory of Portuguese Macau was first leased to Portugal as a trading post by the Ming dynasty in 1557. Portugal paid an annual rent and administered the territory under Chinese sovereignty up until 1887. Portugal later gained perpetual colonial rights in the Sino-Portuguese Treaty of Peking. The colony remained under Portuguese rule until 1999, when it was transferred to China. Macau is a special administrative region of China, which maintains separate governing and economic systems from those of mainland China under the principle of "one country, two systems". The unique blend of Portuguese and Chinese architecture in the city's historic centre led to its inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005.

Originally a sparsely populated collection of coastal islands, Macau, often referred to as the "Las Vegas of the East", has become a major resort city and a top destination for gambling tourism, with a gambling industry seven times larger than that of Las Vegas. The city has one of the highest per capita incomes in the world, and its GDP per capita by purchasing power parity is one of the highest in the world. It has a very high Human Development Index, as calculated by the Macau government, and the fourth-highest life expectancy in the world. The territory is highly urbanised; two-thirds of the total land area is built on land reclaimed from the sea.

Economy Macau has a capitalist service economy largely based on casino gaming and tourism. It is the world's 83rd largest economy, with a nominal GDP of approximately MOP433 billion (US$53.9 billion). Although Macau has one of the highest per capita GDPs, the territory also has a high level of wealth disparity. Macau's gaming industry is the largest in the world, generating over MOP195 billion (US$24 billion) in revenue and about seven times larger than that of Las Vegas. Macau's gambling revenue was $37 billion in 2018.

The regional economy is heavily reliant on casino gaming. The vast majority of government funding (79.6 per cent of total tax revenue) comes from gaming. Gambling as a share of GDP peaked in 2013 at over 60 per cent, and continues to account for 49.1 per cent of total economic output. The vast majority of casino patrons are tourists from mainland China, making up 68 per cent of all visitors. Casino gaming is illegal in both the mainland and Hong Kong, giving Macau a legal monopoly on the industry in China. Revenue from Chinese high rollers has been falling and was forecast to fall as much as 10% more in 2019. Economic uncertainty may account for some of the drop, but alternate Asian gambling venues do as well. For example, Chinese visitors to the Philippines more than doubled between 2015 and 2018, since the City of Dreams casino opened in Manila.

Casino gambling was legalised in 1962 and the gaming industry initially operated under a government-licensed monopoly granted to the Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau. This licence was renegotiated and renewed several times before ending in 2002 after 40 years. The government then allowed open bidding for casino licences to attract foreign investors. Along with an easing of travel restrictions on mainland Chinese visitors, this triggered a period of rapid economic growth; from 1999 to 2016, Macau's gross domestic product multiplied by 7 and the unemployment rate dropped from 6.3 to 1.9 per cent. The Sands Macao, Wynn Macau, MGM Macau, and Venetian Macau were all opened during the first decade after liberalisation of casino concessions. Casinos employ about 24 per cent of the total workforce in the region. "Increased competition from casinos popping up across Asia to lure away Chinese high rollers and tourists" in Singapore, South Korea, Japan, Nepal, the Philippines, Australia, Vietnam and the Russian Far East led in 2019 to the lowest revenues in three years.

Export-oriented manufacturing previously contributed to a much larger share of economic output, peaking at 36.9 per cent of GDP in 1985 and falling to less than 1 per cent in 2017. The bulk of these exports were cotton textiles and apparel, but also included toys and electronics. At the transfer of sovereignty in 1999, manufacturing, financial services, construction and real estate, and gaming were the four largest sectors of the economy. Macau's shift to an economic model entirely dependent on gaming caused concern over its overexposure to a single sector, prompting the regional government to attempt re-diversifying its economy.

The government traditionally had a non-interventionist role in the economy and taxes corporations at very low rates. Post-handover administrations have generally been more involved in enhancing social welfare to counter the cyclical nature of the gaming industry. Economic growth has been attributed in large part to the high number of mainlander visits to Macau, and the central government exercises a role in guiding casino business growth through its control of the flow of tourists. The Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement formalised a policy of free trade between Macau and mainland China, with each jurisdiction pledging to remove remaining obstacles to trade and cross-boundary investment. Due to a lack of available land for farming, agriculture is not significant in the economy. Food is exclusively imported to Macau and almost all foreign goods are transshipped through Hong Kong.

Transport Macau has a highly developed road system, with over 400 km (250 mi) of roads. Automobiles drive on the left (unlike in both mainland China and Portugal), due to historical influence of the Portuguese Empire. Vehicle traffic is extremely congested, especially in the oldest part of the city, where streets are the narrowest. Public bus services operate over 80 routes, supplemented by free hotel shuttle buses that also run routes to popular tourist attractions and downtown locations. About 1,500 black taxicabs are licensed in the territory. The Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, opened in 2018, provides a direct link with the eastern side of the Pearl River estuary. Cross-boundary traffic to mainland China may also pass through border checkpoints at the Portas do Cerco, Lótus Bridge, and Qingmao Port.

Macau International Airport serves over 8 million passengers each year and is the primary hub for local flag carrier Air Macau. Ferry services to Hong Kong and mainland China operate out of ferry terminals such as Taipa Ferry Terminal. Daily helicopter service is also available to Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Phase 1 of the territory's first rail network, the Macau Light Rapid Transit, began operations in December 2019. The Taipa line connects 11 metro stations throughout Taipa and Cotai.

Asia/Macau/Macao 
<b>Asia/Macau/Macao</b>
Image: Adobe Stock vichie81 #157146315

Macao is ranked #113 by the Global Urban Competitiveness Report (GUCR) which evaluates and ranks world cities in the context of economic competitiveness. The Macao metropolitan area has a population of over 680,000 people. For the location of Macao see: Macau.

To set up a UBI Lab for Macao see: https://www.ubilabnetwork.org Twitter: https://twitter.com/UBILabNetwork

Macao is a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for Gastronomy see: https://en.unesco.org/creative-cities

Twin Towns, Sister Cities Macao has links with:

🇬🇼 Bissau, Guinea-Bissau 🇧🇪 Brussels, Belgium 🇵🇹 Coimbra, Portugal 🇻🇳 Da Nang City, Vietnam 🇹🇱 Díli, Timor-Leste 🇸🇪 Linköping, Sweden 🇵🇹 Lisbon, Portugal 🇦🇴 Luanda, Angola 🇲🇿 Maputo, Mozambique 🇮🇳 Panaji, India 🇹🇭 Phuket City, Thailand 🇵🇹 Porto, Portugal 🇨🇻 Praia, Cabo Verde 🇧🇷 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 🇺🇸 San Francisco, USA 🇧🇷 São Paulo, Brazil 🇸🇹 São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe
Text Atribution: Wikipedia Text under CC-BY-SA license | GUCR

Antipodal to Macao is: -66.45,-22.2

Locations Near: Macao 113.55,22.2

🇲🇴 Macau 113.546,22.196 d: 0.6  

🇨🇳 Zhuhai 113.554,22.225 d: 2.8  

🇲🇴 Taipa 113.55,22.15 d: 5.6  

🇨🇳 Zhongshan 113.382,22.521 d: 39.7  

🇭🇰 Tung Chung 113.933,22.283 d: 40.5  

🇭🇰 Tuen Mun 113.973,22.391 d: 48.4  

🇭🇰 Tin Shui Wai 114.002,22.46 d: 54.7  

🇭🇰 Yuen Long 114.017,22.433 d: 54.6  

🇭🇰 Tsuen Wan 114.1,22.367 d: 59.5  

🇭🇰 Ha Kwai Chung 114.117,22.367 d: 61.2  

Antipodal to: Macao -66.45,-22.2

🇧🇴 Tarija -64.733,-21.533 d: 19823  

🇦🇷 San Salvador de Jujuy -65.309,-24.18 d: 19765.9  

🇦🇷 San Ramón de la Nueva Orán -64.333,-23.133 d: 19774.4  

🇨🇱 Calama -68.933,-22.467 d: 19758  

🇦🇷 Salta -65.409,-24.79 d: 19708.2  

🇧🇴 Sucre -65.263,-19.043 d: 19642.9  

🇨🇱 Iquique -70.15,-20.217 d: 19572.7  

🇦🇷 San Miguel de Tucumán -65.225,-26.83 d: 19485.5  

🇧🇴 Sacaba -66.033,-17.4 d: 19479.6  

🇦🇷 Tucumán -65.366,-26.944 d: 19476.3  

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