The Chinese enclave of Macau has overtaken rivals including Singapore, Brunei and Japan to post the highest gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in Asia according to official Government figures.

The GDP per head for the former Portuguese colony increased 27 percent to $36,357 last year and, with a population of only around 538,000, is the world’s 20th richest economy. According to the South China Morning Post, this puts the special administrative region of China ahead of Italy and just behind Germany and France.

The rise in GDP was helped by a 47 percent increase in revenues from gambling in 2007 to $10.34 billion with investment bank Morgan Stanley predicting these figures should continue to grow by 23 percent this year and around 20 percent per year over the next two years.

However, all the news from Macau is not good as the average resident only saw their median monthly wage rise by 7.5 percent last year to approximately $1,020 while inflation climbed 9.5 percent, a twelve-year high. In addition, rent is rising by 15.6 percent while the rate for basic medical consultations went up by 24.2 percent in 2007.


Source: iGamingBusiness.com