Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the first quarter of 2013 expanded by 10.8% year-on-year in real terms. Economic growth in the first quarter was underpinned by increase in exports of services, private consumption expenditure and investment, of which exports of gaming services and other tourism services increased by 8.9% and 4.9%, private consumption expenditure rose by 10.2% and investment expanded by 13.8%. Besides, the implicit deflator of GDP that measures changes in prices increased by 6.5% year-on-year. The job market stayed robust as total employment and working income rose simultaneously, pushing private consumption expenditure to expand by 10.2% year-on-year. Household final consumption expenditure in the domestic market increased by 10.0% and consumption expenditure abroad went up by 9.5%. Government final consumption expenditure increased slightly by 1.7% year-on-year, of which compensation of employees posed a 4.5% growth but net purchases of goods and services decreased by 3.5%. As the gauge of investment, gross fixed capital formation expanded by 14.7% year-on-year. Private investment increased by 8.7%, of which construction investment grew by 24.2%, while equipment investment shrank by 21.7%. Government investment soared by 40.6%, attributable to the construction in full swing of the Hengqin Campus of the University of Macau, Light Rail Transit and public housing, leading public construction investment to surge substantially by 40.4%; besides, equipment investment went up by 71.5%. Increase in merchandise exports sustained, up by 16.4% year-on-year; merchandise imports also benefited from rising private consumption expenditure, visitor spending and investment, up by 10.4% year-on-year. In respect of trade in services, gross gaming receipts, visitor arrivals and visitor spending saw continuous growth, which fuelled exports of services to increase by 8.5% year-on-year, of which exports of gaming services rose by 8.9% and exports of other tourism services grew by 4.9%. Moreover, imports of services went up by 1.6% year-on-year.
