Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that a total of 3,235 establishments were operating in the Transport, Storage & Communications Sector in 2018, representing an increase of 134 year-on-year. Total number of persons engaged rose by 7.5% to 23,058. Receipts and expenditure of the sector amounted to MOP 33.66 billion and MOP 27.32 billion respectively, a rise of 13.7% and 14.2% year-on-year. Gross Surplus grew by 9.6% to MOP 6.33 billion. Meanwhile, Gross Value Added that measures the sectoral contribution to the economy totalled MOP 11.42 billion, an uplift of 7.7%. Gross Fixed Capital Formation surged by 55.5% to MOP 1.52 billion.
Regarding the Transport & Storage Sector, number of establishments increased by 136 year-on-year to 3,190, with 20,502 persons engaged, up by 8.5%. Receipts of the sector grew by 9.3% to MOP 24.53 billion, with those generated from Passenger Transport Services rising by 8.5% to MOP 9.82 billion attributable to the heightened growth of air transport industry; besides, receipts from Services Rendered expanded by 7.5% to MOP 9.45 billion. On the other hand, following the commencement of operations of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, receipts from Sea Transport inched down by 0.1% to MOP 2.40 billion on account of a decrease in the number of visitors and Macao residents travelling by sea. Expenditure of the Transport & Storage Sector amounted to MOP 20.57 billion, up by 8.1% year-on-year. Operating Expenses grew by 7.0% to MOP 9.35 billion, of which expenditure on fuels (MOP 2.46 billion) and services provided at ports, airports & other terminals (MOP 1.11 billion) expanded by 23.6% and 11.2% respectively. Meanwhile, Purchase of Goods & Services and Commission Paid went up by 11.2% to MOP 7.14 billion, and Compensation of Employees grew by 5.6% to MOP 4.08 billion.
Gross Surplus of the Transport & Storage Sector rose by 16.1% year-on-year to MOP 3.96 billion, and Gross Surplus Ratio grew by 1.0 percentage point to 16.2%. Gross Value Added stood at MOP 8.05 billion, an increase of 10.5%. Moreover, Gross Fixed Capital Formation of the sector jumped by 136.8% year-on-year to MOP 1.11 billion ascribable to the acquisition of ships, aircraft and shops by establishments.
As regards the Communications Sector, number of operating establishments decreased by 2 year-on-year to 45 in 2018, while number of persons engaged stayed the same as in 2017 at 2,556. Receipts of the sector amounted to MOP 9.13 billion, an upsurge of 27.6%. Attributable to the considerable sales of telecommunications equipment such as smartphones, receipts generated from Sales of Goods soared by 72.4% to MOP 4.63 billion. The sector incurred MOP 6.74 billion in expenditure, a distinct growth of 38.0% year-on-year. Among the expenditure items, Purchase of Goods & Services and Commission Paid jumped by 60.4% to MOP 4.88 billion and Compensation of Employees rose by 4.7% to MOP 1.01 billion, while Operating Expenses dropped by 2.9% to MOP 856 million.
Gross Surplus of the Communications Sector edged up by merely 0.2% year-on-year to MOP 2.36 billion, whereas Gross Surplus Ratio fell by 7.0 percentage points to 25.9%. Gross Value Added amounted to MOP 3.38 billion, a rise of 1.5%. However, Gross Fixed Capital Formation of the sector decreased by 18.7% to MOP 416 million in view of a reduction in acquisition of fixed assets such as machinery, equipment and shops.
