My indirect gauge of China’s economic growth, Macau casino revenue, increased by 12.3% in September compared to the same month a year ago to MOP23.866 billion, up from 5.5% yoy growth in August.
Although the year-on-year growth recovered, it remains at relatively low level.
Still, during the Golden Week holiday, naturally, people are travelling. Highways are super congested, and so are many tourist attractions.
The government cuts prices on highways and tourist spots, and official data confirmed that car and foot traffic went through the roof. For some, that’s enough to turn bullish. From an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch(via Beyondbrics):
Robust Golden Week tourism data also suggest that China’s GDP data, despite the low quality, might be more real than what’s perceived by bears who are focused too much on power usage and industrial production. Tourism data also point to a shift of consumption toward leisure, a new source of demand.
Right, thank you very much.