澳門日均賭收再縮 券商估全月跌兩成

MACAU’S GGR DOWN AGAIN: FORECAST SAYS JANUARY GGR WILL FALL BY 20%

Macau's average daily gambling revenue shrinks again Macau’s gambling revenue fell again. U.S.-based brokerage Sanford C. Berntein quoted industry information showing that in the week from 10 to 16 of this month, Macau’s average daily gambling revenue was 244 million patacas, down 8.17% week-on-week; the first 9 days of this month

The average daily gambling revenue of 266 million patacas also fell by more than 9% on a week-on-week basis. Epidemic rebounds, tourists drop Macau's gaming revenue got off to a bad start this year, against the backdrop of strong tourist numbers.

In fact, from the 1st to the 12th of this month, the number of inbound and outbound tourists in Macau increased by 20% compared with the daily average in December last year. As for the prosperity of the gambling industry and the lack of wealth, the bank believes that it is related to the rise in the number of confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in the neighboring areas of Macau.

In order to fight the epidemic, the Macau authorities tightened nucleic acid testing requirements for immigrants on the 14th and 16th of this month. On the 14th, the number of arrivals dropped by 40%, so the bank believes that the number of tourists will continue to decline in the future. The bank also believes that this month's gambling revenue has also continued to be plagued by some gaming companies suspending the business of gambling junket operators (Jeckers), and the recent VIP casino revenue has dropped by 40 to 50%.

As a result, the bank expects the full-month gambling revenue of January this year to be 7.96 billion patacas, down about 20% month-on-month. On the other hand, the market's recent focus has been on the draft amendment to the Gaming Law submitted by the Macau government to the Legislative Council.

Risk assessment agency Steve Vickers and Associates released a report, frankly admitting that the draft has political considerations, to achieve the purpose of controlling capital outflow, and the draft also emphasizes the importance of national security, which undoubtedly increases the political risk of foreign investors. New gambling licenses may focus on local gaming companies.

The agency also pointed out that when the bill was submitted, the local government did not mention the process of bidding for new gambling licenses, nor did it encourage any type of companies to do so. Of course, the current licensees will seek to win the gambling licenses again.

However, the agency also reminded investors that geopolitical tensions and the possibility of escalation will make the Macau government likely to favor local bidders, or at least require foreign applicants to change the shareholder structure to prevent problems in the future. Therefore, the agency believes that among the existing license owners, there may be gaming companies that have not been able to obtain new gambling licenses.

(Original – Chinese version)

澳門日均賭收再縮 券商估全月跌兩成

澳門賭收再度下跌，美資券商Sanford C. Berntein引述行業資訊顯示，本月10至16日的一周，澳門每日平均賭收為2.44億澳門元，按周下跌8.17%；本月首9天的日均賭收2.66億澳門元，按周亦下跌逾9%。

疫情反彈 旅客勢回落

今年澳門賭收開局不利，與旅客數字強勁背道而馳。事實上，本月1至12日澳門出入境旅客人數便較去年12月的日均數字升20%，於近日升至每日6.4萬人次，較去年5月高峰期時多出11%。對於賭業旺丁不旺財，該行認為，與澳門鄰近地區新冠肺炎確診數字回升有關，澳門當局為抗疫，分別於本月14日和16日收緊了入境人士核酸檢測要求，其中在14日出入境人次便大跌了四成，故該行相信未來旅客數字會繼續回落。

該行又認為，本月賭收亦持續受部分博企暫停賭業中介人（疊碼仔）賭廳業務所困擾，近期貴賓賭廳收入便下跌了四至五成。因此，該行預計，今年1月全月賭收為79.6億澳門元，按月下跌約20%。

另方面，市場近期焦點都落在澳門政府向立法會提交的修改《博彩法》草案之內。風險評估機構Steve Vickers and Assoicates發表報告，坦言草案有政治上的考量，要達到控制資本外流的目的，草案又強調國家安全的重要性，無疑令境外投資者的政治風險上升。

新賭牌或偏重本土博企

該機構又指，在提交法案的同時，當地政府未有提及競投新賭牌的程序，亦沒有鼓勵哪一類公司去投牌，現時的牌主當然會尋求再度奪得賭牌。可是該機構亦提醒投資者，地緣政治局勢緊張和有機會升溫，將令到澳門政府可能偏重於本土的入標者，或至少要求外資申請人更改股東架構以防日後出現問題。故該機構相信，現有牌主之中，或有博企未能取得新賭牌。