Macau casino shares in decline

The share prices of casino resorts on the Chinese gambling island of Macau went into decline this week as the stats on Chinese New Year gambling proved disappointing, and a local official revealed plans to restrict the number of tourists to the island.

The island’s casino operators are already struggling with lower performance numbers brought about by the Chinese government’s wide-ranging clampdown on corruption on the mainland.

Alexis Tam Chon Weng, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture in Macau triggered concerns when he revealed that the government is to approach the Chinese central government in Beijing with the goal of restricting the number of tourist visas issued to mainland Chinese wishing to visit Macau.

The motivation for this move is apparently to address “quality of life” problems experienced by island residents due to the huge influx of tourists – over Chinese New Year over 440,000 visitors arrived on the small island.

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