Macau 05 (Jan 17 - Dec 20)

[winston]

Chips are down at Macau casinos amid HK protests & slowdown

Source: SCMP

https://www.scmp.com/business/companies ... s-slowdown

[winston]

Macau casino revenues slip to one-year low

by Avery Chen

Macau gaming revenue in September touched the lowest level in a year as casinos continue to be slammed by economic and geopolitical troubles.

Gross gaming revenue for Macau casino operators was 22.1 billion patacas (HK$21.46 billion) in September, increasing 0.6 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Gaming Inspection & Coordination Bureau. That's roughly in line with the median analyst estimate of a 1 percent rise.

For the first three quarters this year, gross gaming revenue fell 1.7 percent to 220.3 billion patacas.

The weak performance follows two months of declines, indicating casinos remain vulnerable to headwinds including the trade war between the United States and China that has weakened the economy and the yuan, social unrest in Hong Kong, and regulatory uncertainty over high-roller junkets.

While the result was in line with forecasts, it was far from impressive as casinos faced an easy year-on-year comparison.

Typhoon Mangkhut hit Macau in September 2018, forcing a 33-hour shutdown of the gambling hub for the first time in its history.

Analysts were expecting Macau's casino business to strengthen in the second half of the year. But the outlook has darkened as Hong Kong protests have held back tourists visiting Macau.

At the same time, China's moves to clamp down cross-border gaming have squeezed liquidity for the junkets, hurting the VIP segment.

Total visitor arrivals to Macau increased 6.5 percent year-on-year to 3.62 million in August, the slowest since September last year, due to the fallout from anti-government protests in Hong Kong.

The number of individual mainland visitors dropped 1.3 percent year-on-year to 1.3 million in August, according to the latest data from Macau's Statistics and Census Service.

The Bloomberg Intelligence index of Macau casino operators fell 1.1 percent in September, after an 11 percent decline in August.

Source: The Standard

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-n ... 1002&sid=2

[winston]

Macao 3Q19 GGR Drops 4.1% YoY, VIP GGR Falls Over 22%

Macao DICJ announced that 3Q19 gross revenue from games of fortune amounted to MOP70.794 billion, down 4.1% yearly and 3.5% quarterly.

During the period, that generated from VIP Baccarat reached MOP31.085 billion, down 22.5% yearly and 10.2% quarterly.

Source: AAstocks.com

[winston]

Gaming
3Q19 earnings recap: Three main trends

The sector reported EBITDA of +5% yoy in 3Q19 which was in line with our expectations despite a 4% decline in sector revenues.

VIP gaming as percentage of GGR continues to shrink and is now at 36% resulting in low earnings sensitivity to overall sector EBITDA.

We maintain our bottom up approach to stock picking with MGM and Wynn offering the most upside, assuming improving equity market sentiment.

Source: CIMB

https://rfs.cgs-cimb.com/api/download?f ... CB49E38802

[winston]

not vested

Macau casino cash to fall further

by Stella Zhai

US investment bank Jefferies estimates the gross gaming revenue in Macau will dive by 10-13 percent year-on-year.

The total spending excluding gaming expenses of visitors to Macau has dropped by 17.2 percent year-on-year to 15.2 billion patacas in the third quarter, said the Statistics and Census Service of Macau.

Source: The Standard

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-n ... 1120&sid=2

[winston]

Macau Package Tour Visitors Slip 35% YoY in Oct

Macau's visitors on package tours declined by 35.3% year-on-year to 509,000 in October, according to data from the Statistics and Census Service.

Apart from an increase of 19.2% YoY in package tour visitors from Malaysia, all other countries/places registered decreases, with those from mainland China (380,000), the Republic of Korea (33,000), Hong Kong (6,100) and Taiwan (60,000) dropping by 38.5%, 37.6%, 42.5% and 3.6% respectively.

In the first ten months of 2019, number of package tour visitors totalled 7.292 million, which was similar to the corresponding figure in 2018.

Source: AAStocks Financial News

[winston]

Macau won't delay renewing gaming licences

by Stella Zhai

Macau's six casino licenses, held by SJM Holdings (0880), Wynn Macau (1128), Galaxy Entertainment (0027), MGM China (2282), Sands China (1928) and Melco International Development's (0200) spin-off Melco Resorts & Entertainment, are set to expire between 2020 and 2022.

Gaming revenues fell 8.5 percent year-on-year to 22.88 billion patacas (HK$22.21 billion) in November.

High rollers outside Guangdong province will delay their trips to Macau considering the situation in neighboring Hong Kong, while the inauguration ceremony of the new Chief Executive of Macau this month will also put off visitors.

Source: The Standard

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-n ... 1203&sid=2

[behappyalways]

2019.12.21【文茜世界周報】澳門回歸20年　北京理想的一國兩制榜樣
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHK-P8A ... AU&index=2

[behappyalways]

Macau gaming revenue drops in December by most since March 2016 as security lockdown deters visitors
https://www.scmp.com/business/article/3 ... y-lockdown

[winston]

not vested

Macau casino revenue shrinks 14pc

by Stella Zhai

Macau's gaming revenue slipped for the third straight month to 22.84 billion patacas (HK$22.17 billion) in December, marking the worst annual decline since 2015 as the world's largest gambling hub struggled to lure high rollers amid geopolitical tensions and an economic slowdown.

Gross gaming revenue shrank 13.7 percent from a year earlier, according to data from the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

That was lower than the median analyst estimate of a 15 percent fall. Full-year revenue also slid 3.4 percent from 2018 to 292.5 billion patacas.

The year's revenue decline follows two years of gains in Macau and comes as a closely watched transition of a new government administration is under way.

Arrivals in December were further crimped by President Xi Jinping's visit to the city to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Macau's handover.

This meant tighter visa policies, travel restrictions and enhanced border security.

The year was particularly challenging for the industry as it faced trade war uncertainty, a slowing Chinese economy and a crackdown on cross-border gaming that squeezed junkets and the VIP sector.

Meanwhile, rival gaming hubs such as Vietnam are threatening to chip away at Macau's dominance.

The escalating protests in Hong Kong have deterred travelers from visiting the gaming hub, as they usually visit Hong Kong and Macau on the same trip.

The enclave relied on by operators, including Sands China (1928), MGM China (2285) and Wynn Macau (1128) for the bulk of their revenue, will find it difficult to return to the double-digit growth of the past, analysts from Bloomberg Intelligence said previously.

Casinos are racing to build bigger and flashier resorts to offer more entertainment options to help replace weaker VIP revenue and keep the casinos aligned with Macau's guidelines for providing more family-friendly attractions.

But this year may be better for casino operators as new hotel supply and infrastructure improvements kick in.

Xi, during his recent visit, urged Macau to diversify its economy and carve out a wider role in the Greater Bay Area and his signature "One Belt, One Road" initiative.

The Bloomberg Intelligence index of Macau operators rose 12 percent in December as investor sentiment improved over signs of a trade war truce and Beijing's supportive stance toward the enclave. That compared to a 7 percent gain in the benchmark Hang Seng Index.

Macau has become the world's largest gambling hub over the past few decades and much of its stability can be traced to its monopoly over casino gambling in China. The industry accounts for 80 percent of the government's total revenue and supports about US$1,000 (HK$7,800) in annual handouts per resident.

Source: The Standard

http://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-n ... 0102&sid=2