Macau to surpass Qatar as the richest place on earth by 2020

According to the projections by International Monitory Fund (IMF), Macau will overtake Qatar as the richest place on earth. The IMF projects that the Macau’s per capita GDP will touch $172,680 by 2020, as against Qatar’s $158,117 at the same time.

Macau, an autonomous region in China, can be termed the gambling capital of the world.

In the year 2016, for which actual data is available, Macau’s per capita GDP was $100,069, considerably lower than Qatar’s $125,159.

The lofty projections by the IMF are based on Macau’s growing gambling market. The city which is the only place in China where gambling is allowed has become a magnet for high rollers.

In 2017, Macau reported a 19 per cent revenue growth from “game of fortune” generating $32.68 billion. By July 2018, the revenue from gambling business in the city has grown further by 17.5 per cent generating $21.59 billion.

Comparatively, revenue of casinos in Las Vegas (situated in the Nevada state of the US) was just $5.84 billion. This makes Macau the most-favoured gambling destination in the world.

In the list of richest places Luxembourg, Singapore and Brunei Darussalam will follow Macau and Qatar in 2020, as per the IMF data.

Source: moneycontrol.com