Morgan Stanley analysts Praveen Choudhary, Gareth Leung and Thomas Allen made the prediction, saying: “For open bidding to happen, Macau has to run a public consultation, and then put the new law in the Legislative Assembly (the draft is not ready yet), which could take more than a year.”
“We do not expect this to happen in 2021/22 due to the time crunch. Similar to March 2019 (a year before SJM/MGM’s licenses expired), we expect this decision to be taken by June 2021 – a year before the expiry date in June 2022,” the analysts added.
Casino concessions for SJM and MGM China were previously extended by 2 years in 2019, the extension cost each casino US$25m as compensation for the government. The extensions can go up to 5 years in total. Morgan Stanley believes a similar fee will be charged this time around.
Macau wants to revise its gaming law by 2021, which would mean new licenses will be given out according to renewed rules. But this schedule might face delays because the government will hold a public consultation process.
Currently, the concessions are granted to six casinos: SJM, MGM China, Galaxy Entertainment, Sands China, Wynn Macau, and Melco.
Source: GMB
