In the first quarter of 2008, performance of the gaming sector continued to stay vibrant, with gross gaming revenue (excluding gratuities) soaring substantially by 61.8% in nominal terms compared with the same quarter of 2007, while total visitor spending (excluding gaming expenses) rose slightly by 4.3%; gross fixed capital formation dropped by 17.6% upon successive completion of large-scale construction projects, and exports of goods fell by 11.2%. Taking all relevant data together, GDP for the first quarter of 2008 expanded by 31.6% in real terms, higher than the 22.1% growth in the fourth quarter of 2007.

In terms of major GDP components, private consumption expenditure in the first quarter of 2008 increased by 9.6%, lower than the 9.7% growth in the previous quarter. Household final consumption expenditure in the domestic market rose by 8.6%, while that abroad fell slightly by 1.7%, with the expenditure in Mainland China amounting to MOP 606 million.

Government final consumption expenditure increased by 16.1%, lower than the 19.5% growth in the previous quarter, with compensation of employees going up by 4.7% and net purchases of goods and services rising notably by 165.4%, reports DSEC.

Gross fixed capital formation, a gauge of investment, fell by 17.6%, decreasing further from the 11.9% drop in the previous quarter. In the private sector, total investment declined by 17.7%, mainly attributable to a 20.5% decrease in construction investment and a 9.3% drop in equipment investment. Total government investment advanced by 22.4%, in which construction investment grew by 58.4%, while that in equipment fell by 21.0%. Integrating data on both sectors, overall investment in construction decreased by 20.3% in the first quarter of 2008, slowing further from the 18.3% drop in the previous quarter; overall investment in equipment fell by 9.4%, which was the first quarterly decrease since the third quarter of 2003.

In terms of visible trade, total value of exports of goods declined by 7.1% in nominal terms and 11.2% in real terms, manifesting that the increase in the fourth quarter of 2007 was just a seasonal rebound. Analyzed by major destinations, merchandise exports to the United States, the European Union and Mainland China went down by 3.6%, 32.3% and 33.1% respectively in nominal terms. Total value of imports of goods increased by 11.0% in nominal terms, but registered zero growth in real terms due to rising prices of imports, lower than the corresponding growth of 17.6% in nominal terms and 10.6% in real terms in the previous quarter.

As regards invisible trade (exports of services), exports of gaming services surged remarkably by 62.5%; total visitor spending (excluding gaming expenses) rose slightly by 4.3% as the 15.1% rise in the Tourist Price Index had partly offset the increases in the number of visitor arrivals and the respective per-capita spending. Integrating the principal data on the exports of services, overall exports of services recorded an increase of 46.3%, higher than the 34.5% growth in the previous quarter; moreover, imports of services grew by 40.4%, higher than 31.3% growth in the previous quarter.

The Statistics and Census Service ()

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