NEWS ANALYSIS: Macao's Economy to Grow at Moderate Pace in 2002 (3)
In the near term, Macao expects to witness a huge influx of tourists from China's inland, as the China National Tourism Administration has approved the increase in the number of tourist services handling Macao-bound business to 67 and the SAR government is also selecting the best of its travel agencies to host the inland tourists, upon the approach of the traditional Chinese lunar New Year.For the Macao economy, export outlook remains a worry, despite the drop narrowing as hoped in 2001 from the previous year, economists say. Ailing demand in the United States and the European Union, the key market for Macao exports, brought down the region's export volume as much as 8.9 percent year- on-year to 16.76 billion patacas (2.1 billion U.S. dollars) from January to November.
This compared with a 6.8 percent rise of imports in the 11-month period, which is considered a disadvantage for economic growth by causing a widening trade deficit.
The SAR authorities hope that the long-awaited recovery in the world economy, foreseen by many economists to come up in the latter half of this year, will stimulate Macao's exports with textile products as a major part.
The Macao economy jumped 4.6 percent in the year 2000 -- the first year since Macao returned to the motherland. Before that time, it was in a downturn territory for four years in a row.
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