Surging gambling revenue and investments in luxury hotels and the entertainment industry has made the former Portuguese enclave of Macau Asia's richest territory, a media report said.
Macau has overtaken other locations such as Singapore, Brunei and Japan to take the top spot after gross domestic product (GDP) per capita surged 27 percent to US$36,357 last year, according to Macau government figures.
The results from the statistics and census service show that in US dollar terms, Macau, with a population of 531,000, is the world's 20th richest economy, the South China Morning Post said. This puts the territory, which like Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, ahead of Italy and just behind Germany and France. Often mistakenly referred to as an island, Macau is a peninsula just 37 miles southwest of Hong Kong and bordering mainland China.
It is now one of two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China. Governed for 442 years by Portugal, it was the oldest European colony in the history of Asia before it was handed over to China in 1999. The Portuguese influence is apparent in the distinctive architecture, food, music and swirling mosaic patterns inlaid in city streets. The rise in per-capita GDP was buoyed by a 47 percent increase to $10.34 billion in gambling revenue last year.
Investment bank Morgan Stanley has forecast gaming revenue will grow 23 percent this year and rise by about 20 percent per year in 2009 and 2010. But while the improved growth figures may be good news for the territory's wealthy few, it comes with a down side. The average Macau resident saw median monthly employment earnings rise by only 7.5 percent last year to about $1,020.
By comparison, inflation climbed by an annualised 9.5 percent in February, a 12-year high. Rent and medical expenses are rising at a faster rate, by 15.6 percent for rent and 24.2 percent for basic medical consultations. The 538 000 strong resident population of the gambling island is also experiencing definite improvements in employment prospects as the island's 29 casinos continue to pull in business and expand, reports Xinhua.
A survey result showed that at the end of last (2007) year, there were 44 743 paid employees engaged in Macao's gaming industry, an increase of 22.9 percent year-on-year.
Among the employees, 30 486 were engaged in positions that are directly related to betting services, such as hard and soft count clerks, casino floor persons, dealers, while 5 341 were working as casino and slot machine attendants or hosts, security and surveillance workers, according to the Survey on Manpower Needs and Wages of the Gaming Industry, which was released by Macao's Statistics and Census Services (DSEC).
Gaming revenues in 2007 amounted to over 83 billion patacas (around US$ 10.3 billion). Average monthly earnings (excluding bonuses and allowances) for full-time employees in the local gaming industry rose by 6.6 percent year-on-year to 14 899 patacas (US$ 1 862).