The institution said in its latest Macau research note – citing its own estimates and operator information – that 2020 full-year Macau GGR might recover to the equivalent of just under US$22.11 billion, compared to the equivalent of just under US$36.10 billion for the whole of 2019.
The company added that 2021 might see not simply recovery relative to 2019, but actually GGR as high as the equivalent of US$37.53 billion, i.e., greater than last year. That was on the basis of a mainland-China economic recovery, and the opening of new or revamped properties in the Macau market.
“We are increasingly hopeful that travel curbs, which have been preventing any demand recovery, could start to ease from next month, as hinted at the [Macau government] 2020 Policy Address and Sands’ earnings,” wrote analysts DS Kim, Derek Choi and Jeremy An.
They were referring first to comment by Macau’s Chief Executive, Ho Iat Seng, during the local government’s statement last week of its policy intentions for the following 12 months. It mentioned that once the novel coronavirus pandemic was deemed to be under control, Macau would ask the mainland authorities to restart the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) that enables generally higher-value independent mainland Chinese travellers to come to Macau.
In the first quarter this year, Macau casino GGR was down 60% in year-on-year terms at just under US$3.82 billion amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, which started to affect the local tourism market just before Chinese New Year in late January.
Source: GMB / GGR Asia
