The Government of Macau announced this Friday that it will deliver eight thousand patacas (1,010 euros) to each resident to “relieve the financial pressure” caused by the worst outbreak of Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.
From October 28, 2023 to June 30, 2023, each resident will be able to use this amount to make payments, especially in local businesses, with a daily limit of 300 patacas (38 euros).
The funds will automatically be transferred to the mobile payment method or a consumer card that each resident had already chosen in a similar measure, launched in June.
In a statement, Macau’s Executive Council said the subsidy could generate consumption of more than 10 billion patacas (1.26 billion euros), helping to “boost local domestic demand and promote economic recovery.”
At a press conference, the director of Economic Services of Macao, Anton Tai Kin Ip, said that the measure represents an investment of 5,920 million patacas (745.6 million euros).
In previous rounds of this subsidy, 23% of the amount was spent on restaurants, followed by supermarkets, Anton Tai said. The measure has “very high efficiency” and “is very easy,” he stressed.
In August, the Macau China General Association of Commerce suggested that the amount of consumption cards be extended to the entire population, including 3,000 patacas (380 euros) for non-resident workers.
But this Friday Anton Tai said the government preferred to “give priority to residents”. Nearly 158,000 non-residents from abroad lived in Macau at the end of July, with all government support cut off during the pandemic.
The announced measure is part of an assistance plan, for a total amount of 10 billion patacas, announced by the Government in July, and which includes a program of “monetary support for workers, professionals and operators of commercial establishments.”
In July, the Macao parliament approved a review of this year’s budget, which provides for the use of funds from the territory’s extraordinary reserve, amounting to 35.1 billion patacas (4.5 billion euros).
Macau was hit in June and July by the worst outbreak since the start of the pandemic, which infected more than 1,700 people and caused six deaths, and which led the authorities to impose a partial lockdown on the territory, which included the closure of most commercial establishments. .
Source: TSF
