The Macau Government has held a signing ceremony for the establishment of a MOP20bn ($2.48m) guidance fund focused on investing in emerging industries, industrial transformation, the commercialisation of scientific achievements and start-ups.
The establishment of the fund comes as the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) found a 43.5% year-on-year drop in inward direct investment flows to the region in 2025. The report highlighted the decrease in reinvestment from foreign direct investors and repayments of large loans by some enterprises as some of the main reasons for the drop.
The fund was signed during a special ceremony by the Chairman of Macau Investment and Management Company Ltd Che Weng Keong and representatives from Macau's six integrated tourism and leisure companies.
The initial size of the guidance fund is MOP20bn, with MOP11bn contributed by the region's government from the accumulated returns on fiscal reserves. Meanwhile, the six integrated tourism and leisure companies contributed the remaining MOP9bn.
According to the Census, the total amount of inward direct investments to the region was MOP42.5bn in 2025, with MOP33.4bn directed to the gaming sector.
The region's Secretary for Economy and Finance Ng Wai Han, who witnessed the signing, pointed out that this year marks the start of the region's third Five-Year Plan, aimed at implementing an appropriate economic diversification strategy.
During Q3 2026, Macau's gaming market recorded mixed results, as non-VIP gaming revenue declined 5.08% year-over-year to MOP43.5bn during the three months ending in September. Since June, Macau's gross gaming revenue (GGR) has been steadily declining, with September's revenue being 17.5% lower month-on-month.
Nevertheless, the Government is maintaining its full year GGR forecast of MOP236bn. Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai confirmed that the cumulative GGR reached MOP187.1bn through September, leaving a target of around MOP48.9bn to meet by the end of the year.
During the first four days of the Chinese public holiday National Day Golden Week, Macau welcomed more than 750,000 visitors
