Despite the economic slowdown and the casino revenue crisis, Macau continues to incorporate new companies at a record pace. Never like last year, however, with so many businesses opening their doors here, injecting – also on a record level – fresh millions into the city. According to the Statistics and Census Bureau, some 5,409 new companies were created last year, bringing MOP1.8 billion in capital to the local economy, an all-time record in terms of companies and investment. Almost two thirds came from the retail and business services sectors. The wholesale and retail segment incorporated 1,854 new companies last year and business services an additional 1,192, the report says. In the fourth quarter alone, company statistics revealed a mixed tendency. During this period Macau incorporated 1,454 new companies with the all-time record registered in the second quarter of last year. But in December, only 399 businesses were launched here, the second worst month of 2014 and a possible indication of a deterioration of the economic sentiment in the city. In the last quarter, the number of new companies in Macau increased by 21 per cent, with the business services sector generating 43 per cent more businesses and real estate twice more (increase of 85 per cent). Around 70 per cent of the new incorporations of last year were small companies that started with a capital of less than MOP50,000 (3,749), while 155 businesses started with a capital of MOP1 million. With the economy growing at a double-digit clip, it’s no surprise that Macau launched two times more businesses last year than in 2010, for example.
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