Macao adopts austerity measures as revenue falls below "red line"

The government of the Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) implemented an austerity plan as the monthly gaming revenue fell below the "red line" last month,Office of the Secretary for Economy and Finance said on Tuesday.

The SAR government's 2015 Budget Amendment Law stipulated that a "red line" of the minimum monthly revenue should be no less than 20 billion patacas (2.48 billion U.S. dollars).

But according to Macao's Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau, the gaming revenue in August plunged 35.5 percent to 18.6 billion patacas (2.31 billion U.S. dollars) and recorded a total of 158.8 billion patacas (19.7 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue until August, down 36.5 percent from a year ago, which meant the annual income would fail to meet the budget.

Chief Executive of the Macao SAR Chui Sai On instructed public sectors to reducing costs in areas, such as the purchase of daily supplies and third-party services involving about 1.4 billion patacas (170 million U.S. dollars) in total, the financial department said in a statement.

The SAR government promised the austerity measures would not affect spending in social welfare, cash sharing plan, and investment and development.

It reiterated the financial situation of the region remained stable and the sound fiscal reserve system could cope with emergencies or economic fluctuations. Endi