The Macau Legislative Assembly (AL) has unanimously approved the first draft of the government’s 2025 budget amendment bill, which proposes a decrease in budgeted revenue due to lower gross gaming revenue estimates.
In a move aimed at ensuring the smooth operation of public administrative services and meeting essential commitments for 2025, the Assembly reviewed a new 2025 Budget Law last year, as adjustments to the budget have become necessary due to evolving public finance policies.
Secretary for Economy and Finance Tai Kin Ip introduced the outline of the 2025 budget amendment bill during a plenary session in the legislature yesterday, noting that in the first quarter of 2025, Macau’s economy continued to recover with a high influx of visitors.
However, gross gaming revenue slightly fell short of expectations, and as a result, the SAR Government revised its annual estimate for gross gaming revenue, which forms the primary basis for the amended budget’s financial revenues.
The government now revised downward its estimates by MOP12 billion ($1.5 billion) to MOP228 billion ($28.5 billion), or a monthly average of MOP19 billion ($2.4 billion), from a previous forecast of MOP240 billion ($30.4 billion), or a monthly average of MOP20 billion ($2.5 billion).
For the first five months of 2025, Macau’s casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) reached MOP97.7 billion ($12.1 billion), up 1.7 percent from last year. However, this figure remains only 77 percent of the same period in 2019, which was MOP125.6 billion ($15.5 billion).
The outline will now proceed through the legislative committee phase, after which a final draft will be debated again in the AL.
The RAEM Government plans to closely monitor public finance revenues throughout the current year, implementing prudent financial measures, including expenditure containment, to ensure the stability of public finances.
On the expenditure side, the budget sees increases in areas such as the construction of the University of Macau campus in Hengqin, investments in scientific and technological research facilities, and adjustments to subsidies for the elderly, children, and individuals with disabilities.
Conversely, expenditures under the Investment and Development Expenditure Plan (PIDDA) will experience a relative reduction.
The total revenue for the integrated ordinary budget of the RAEM for the economic year 2025 has been adjusted to MOP116.53 billion ($14.8 billion), reflecting a reduction of MOP4.56 billion ($570 million) compared to the previous figure.
Meanwhile, the total expenditure will now be MOP116.24 billion ($14.7 billion), an increase of MOP2.86 billion ($355 million) from earlier estimates.
