Apr 21, 2020 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck  
Macau’s April casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) might contract by as much as 95 percent, said a Monday note from a brokerage, analysing monthly performance so far.
“We estimate April may be down 93 percent to 95 percent… assuming no change in travel restrictions,” said Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd.
The institution said the average daily rate of Macau GGR for April 14 to 19 was estimated to be only about MOP25 million (about US$3.1 million), which was down 97 percent judged year-on-year.
For the first 19 days of April, Sanford Bernstein said channel checks indicated Macau GGR at MOP1 billion, a decline of 93 percent on the same month in 2019.
“We estimate VIP has been stronger than mass, with revenue driven by a very small number of players, with very low hold in VIP and significant volatility,” said analysts Vitaly Umansky, Eunice Lee and Kelsey Zhu.
Restrictions during the pandemic crisis on cross-border travel involving Macau, Hong Kong and mainland China had been factors in Macau tourism numbers “dropping to less than a few hundred visitors per day – versus 100,000-plus in normal times,” stated the analysts.
Macau’s Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng had said on Monday after the government’s policy address for 2020 that there should be “more clarity” in 10 days – i.e., the end of April – regarding whether Macau could ease its own border restrictions. The city has had 12 consecutive days without a new report of Covid-19 infection.
Other neighbouring jurisdictions including mainland China’s Guangdong province have their own travel rules relating to the coronavirus crisis.
Sanford Bernstein said on Monday: “The gaming operators and other Macau-based contacts we have spoken with do not see any definitive clarity on timing of recovery,” including “visa situation improvement”.
They added: “We expect GGR to pick up again in May/June with loosening travel restrictions, but any strong near-term recovery is unlikely.”
Brokerage Nomura had said last week it might be 2022 before Macau GGR reached 2019 levels. JP Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Ltd said in a Monday memo: “We think it’s reasonable to expect 2021 earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation to be similar to that of 2019.”
On Monday Macau’s leader Mr Ho had outlined public policy steps to help the Macau economy recover from the shock of the pandemic. They included Macau asking China’s central government to increase the number of mainland cities covered by the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS), once the Covid-19 pandemic was controlled.
Mainland China’s IVS system was introduced in 2003. It allows mainland Chinese living in eligible areas of the mainland to apply for a travel permit to visit Macau or Hong Kong individually instead of having to be part of a tour group.
Apr 27, 2023
Apr 19, 2023
Jun 02, 2023
Jun 02, 2023
Jun 02, 2023
Genting Singapore Ltd says Lam Yi Young has resigned from his role as deputy chief executive of Resorts World at Sentosa Pte Ltd. The latter firm is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Genting...Jun 01, 2023
Alfastreet, a manufacturer of electronic gaming machines,...Jun 01, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is tweaking...Jun 01, 2023
The iGaming segment in Asia “has grown rapidly” since...May 31, 2023
Showing slot machine players – via animations on the...May 31, 2023
Macau stocks in likelihood “have been punished too much...May 31, 2023
There are foreign companies still interested in investing...May 31, 2023
Thailand could pass the necessary enabling legislation for...May 30, 2023
China will remain a key market for Asian gaming...May 30, 2023
Alejandro Tengco (pictured in a file photo), chairman and...May 30, 2023
There are “plenty of reasons” for the global gaming...May 30, 2023
Gaming equipment provider International Game Technology Plc...May 30, 2023
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023 Special Edition:...May 29, 2023
Austria-based gaming equipment maker and operator Novomatic...May 25, 2023
Sports betting and online casino operating platform...May 24, 2023
The business performance in Asia of gaming content and...May 18, 2023
The organisers of Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia 2023...May 17, 2023
Gaming content and equipment supplier Light & Wonder...May 16, 2023
Casino equipment maker Sega Sammy Creation Inc is to...May 09, 2023
Casino slot machine and digital gaming content provider...May 05, 2023
The Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia event in Singapore is the...May 04, 2023
An adviser to a Thailand parliamentary committee mulling...(Click here for more)
US$8.1 billion
Macau’s casino gross gaming revenue in the five months to May 31