Macau Opinion | Top of the world

Great news, especially to someone like myself and my office colleagues who dedicated the last years of our lifes promoting Macau’s business environment around the world. It is always good to be on top and this IMF classification will be like the cherry on the top of the cake every time we want to sustain how successful Macau became in less than 20 years. If one had to divide life in two single parameters, quantity and quality, Macau’s position in 2020 IMF ranking would be considered as mission accomplished with respect to the said first parameter, i.e. we are the richest on earth.

It happens that life is not as simple, cold and grey as IMF numbers – trust me, I am European and felt the effects of Troika’s formula (IMF included) to fight against the sovereign debt crisis that had affected the so called “PIG’S” recently. Unfortunately, Macau cannot be ranked as number one country or jurisdiction on earth and one does not need to bother with subjectivisms to reach this conclusion. Let’s be objective and pragmatic and focus our attention on the most basic needs of modern human beings: health, education, justice, environment, transportation and culture. None of the said needs is fairly satisfied in Macau, at least judging by regular worldwide standards. The local hospital is operating over capacity, the University of Macau has great facilities but one cannot find it in country and worldwide rankings. Courts are slow, expensive and incapable to make decisions in a timely manner. Environmental concerns do not exist at all; recycling is a mirage and the treatment of the city’s waste a total unknown – at least to a common citizen like myself. The transportation system is a mess; several different types of buses cross the city every day disputing the same routes and “clients” – casinos, public transportation companies, travel agencies, governmental departments, schools, associations and many others own a bus in Macau. Culture, well the cultural offer is not that bad but that may not be enough for the number one jurisdiction in the world.

Well, with this scenario in mind, I trust that Macau authorities should look to the IMF ranking in a humble manner. It is good to be number one but in Macau’s case I trust that the position requires local authorities to work to improve residents’ life standards and to reduce inequality in the city. The foundations have been built and perhaps that is the most difficult to achieve. Now it is time to use the resources to effectively change and improve people’s lives. Hopefully that moment will come soon and when it comes it will be even easier to promote Macau and its business environment.