Gaming growth in Macau set to slow down says casino firm
Casino operator and analysts see revenue from gambling likely to be less than 15 per cent this year with Beijing's anti-corruption measures biting
Gaming revenue in Macau will probably increase less than 15 per cent this year, said SJM, Asia's biggest casino operator by revenue.
SJM's chief executive, Ambrose So, said in Beijing: "It will be in the low teens. We have a bigger base, so low teens is still very good."
Gaming revenue in Macau reported year-on-year growth of 11.5 per cent to 27.1 billion patacas last month, supported by a big number of mainland tourists visiting during the Lunar New Year holiday.
The accumulated gross gaming revenue for the first two months of this year reached 53.9 billion patacas, an increase of 9.4 per cent over the same period last year, according to government data.
Aaron Fischer, the head of consumer and gaming research at CLSA, said his forecast growth for the full year was 9 per cent. "We do not expect a fantastic year because of the capacity constraints and also potential concerns over the corruption crackdown may discourage some marginal VIP customers visiting Macau," he said.
The Macau casino industry recorded gross gaming revenue of 304.1 billion patacas last year, but growth slowed to 13.5 per cent from 42 per cent in 2011, amid an economic downturn on the mainland that made gamblers cut spending.
Concern that a political crackdown on the mainland could affect the Macau gaming industry has been rising as the new leadership in Beijing, which will take over the reins of the country in a national conference that started yesterday, is expected to implement more measures against corruption and conspicuous spending.