MACAO, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Fitch Ratings has upgraded Macao's Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'AA' from 'AA-' with a stable outlook, the Monetary Authority of Macao said in a statement on Tuesday.

Fitch ratings estimates that Macao's real grew by 8.7 percent in 2017, following three years of consecutive declines, which can be attributed largely to a pick-up in gaming activity, as well as stabilized private consumption.

It also forecasts that Macao's real GDP will grow at 5 percent in 2018, due to a moderate gaming revenue growth, as well as ongoing infrastructure initiatives.

Macao's fiscal reserve reached 487.1 billion patacas (about 60.59 billion U.S. dollars) at the end of November last year. The basic reserves accounted for 128.0 billion patacas (about 15.92 billion dollars) and the excess reserves took up 359.1 billion patacas (about 44.67 billion dollars), according to the Monetary Authority of Macao.