Citigroup has reduced by one-fifth its estimate on Macau’s October casino gross gaming revenue (GGR) to MOP5.5 billion (US$680.2 million) from the previous MOP7.0 billion, after what the institution termed “slightly underwhelming” gaming revenue performance during Autumn Golden Week.
Macau had an average daily volume of 26,000 inbound visitors from October 1 to October 7 inclusive, a period designated by China’s State Council as this year’s holiday encompassing National Day.
The daily average casino GGR in Macau during the seven-day break was only about MOP189 million, a level lower than the approximately “MOP200 million a day” from Labour Day holidays in May, and the about “MOP333 million” from the Chinese New Year holiday period that spanned January end to early February, Citigroup analysts George Choi and Ryan Cheung noted in a Monday memo.
“Despite the solid National Day Golden Week visitation…GGR recovery was probably impacted by the recent Covid-19 outbreak in China (unfavourable hold seems to have played a role too),” the Citigroup analysts wrote.
Though they added: “Macau recorded GGR of approximately MOP429 million a day in the very week after the Chinese New Year week. There is a chance that a similar spillover could happen this month,” relative to Golden Week.
The Covid-19 “outbreak” referred to by Citigroup was understood to be a reference to the Chinese mainland seeing a rise in reported Covid-19 infections coinciding with the week-long break around National Day.
Several neighbourhoods in Zhuhai city, Guangdong province – a main entry point to Macau for tourists from the mainland – have been ordered to hold on Tuesday and Wednesday mass testing for Covid-19, according to an announcement made by that city’s Covid-19 control authority.
Some Zhuhai districts had already seen movement controls imposed, following fresh local Covid-19 cases confirmed from the weekend onward.
