Addressing the short-term cash flow concerns of Macau’s struggling businesses looms as the government’s key economic challenge during the current coronavirus-fueled downturn, according to businessman and member of the Chinese National People’s Congress, Kevin Ho King Lun.
Ho, who is the nephew of former Macau Chief Executive Edmund Ho, is a director of Tai Fung Bank Ltd and Chairman of real estate firm Anzac Group. He told Inside Asian Gaming that the government must continue supporting the city’s SMEs while visitor numbers remain low, with further grants or subsidies both options to alleviate the impact upon local businesses.“The government’s recent schemes have provided some comfort to the hard hit sectors, and various banks have also provided short term and fast loan options,” Ho said.
“I think most of the problems are cash flow problems, so maybe further help from the government by providing a one-off cash subsidy to these SMEs in form of a tax rebate, or even just a subsidy, will help.”
Ho noted that the timing of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, coming on the eve of the busy Chinese New Year period, has exacerbated the pain being felt by businesses all across Macau, potentially adding to the length of the economic recovery period.
Asked to identify key indicators that might offer some insight into when Macau will ramp again, he replied, “Macau is such a small economy, it is fairly hard to just look at indicators.
“A few keys are of course tourist numbers and gaming revenues, but the latest incentive of giving residents spending credits will surely help local businesses in the short run too, even though economic indicators may not reflect it.
“Although we see Macau has controlled [the virus] relatively well, and mainland China has also seen some good progress, I think optimistically we can only slowly get back on our feet in the summer months, and then hope for a strong rebound in the final quarter of the year.”
