Macau woes not over yet, says analyst

A Barclay’s analyst, Felicia Hendrix, said this week that predictions that the declining Macau gambling has almost bottomed out may be premature, but that the long term prospects for the region’s gambling operations are good.

Citing persistent difficulties impacting the Macau gambling market at present – the crackdown on corruption by the Chinese government, and a slower Chinese economy – Hendrix opined that it is still too early to call the bottom of the declining market despite the launch of new properties on the island.

However, she took a brighter view in the longer term, quoting numbers from a McKinsey survey that indicate a market of around 200 million gamblers that could grow by a third to 300 million by 2020.

“Given China’s rapidly growing middle class, we view the opportunity for robust growth in Mass GGR in Macau over the long term as promising,” Hendrix observed, adding that before consistent growth can be achieved the current situation in the market will have to stabilise.

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