Boosted by strong rebound in the third and fourth quarters, Macau could get a positive growth in the Gross Domestic Products for the past year.

Speaking to reporters after he attended an event about Shanghai World Expo 2010 today, the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Francis Tam Pak Yuen, said the global financial turmoil and economic downturn hindered Macao’s economic growth in the first half of 2009 and cast doubts on a year-on-year growth, Mr Tam said.

However latest data showed a double digit growth for the fourth quarter, which made the Government expect a small GDP growth for the whole year.

Speaking on gaming revenue, Mr Tam said the overall gaming tax exceeded 120 billion patacas, a year-on-year growth of more than 10 per cent.

As global economy showed signs of recovery, Mr Tam said he expected a favourable economic growth in the first half of 2010.