GGRAsia – Mass market in Macau could be stabilising: Nomura

Mass market in Macau could be stabilising: Nomura

Sep 14, 2015 Newsdesk Latest News, Macau, Top of the deck

Mass gaming revenues in Macau have shown “increasing signs of stabilisation”, said a note on Monday from Japanese brokerage Nomura.

“Mass table minimum bets (proxy to underlying mass demand) have shown signs of recovery with our industry data suggesting average mass table minimum up 7 percent month-on-month in August 2015, ending 12 months of sequential decline,” wrote Nomura.

Wells Fargo Securities LLC said in a note on Friday that the macroeconomic picture for China as a whole could soon have some other elements for Macau investors to consider.

“The Chinese government announced a major stimulus package, which could be larger than the 2012 stimulus, and [is] a key issue for the outlook,” wrote the institution’s analyst Cameron McKnight.

“First September revenue checks were positive, but feedback this week was muted,” added the analyst, referring to unofficial gross gaming revenue numbers for Macau.

But he also noted a likely month-on-month decline in Macau hotel room rates in September.

“Our Macau room survey points to a 19 percent month-on-month decline in September room rates, suggesting mass [gaming] volumes could soften this month,” said the Wells Fargo analyst.

At least four investor notes issued since Friday also mention that Macau’s VIP sector continues to face challenges. Some of the notes comment on updated reports about an alleged theft of up to HKD2 billion (US$258 million) from Macau junket operator Dore Entertainment Co Ltd.