Briefs | Citi cuts casino April GGR to MOP18bn

Citi has again cut its April GGR (Gross Gaming Revenue) forecast, this time from MOP20bn to MOP18bn, a decline of 43 percent year-on-year. Citing its gaming industry sources, Citi Research indicated that the Macau table GGR reached MOP7.3bn for the first 12 days in April, including an estimated MOP360m in slot-related revenue. The total daily GGR run rate over the past five days equated to MOP592m/day, roughly in line with the run rate in the first seven days in April (MOP616m/day), said the research institution. Citi estimates an average daily revenue of MOP600m for the rest of the month. At MOP18bn, this would be the lowest monthly run rate since November 2010.

Jetco launches mobile NFC services in HK, Macau

Joint Electronic Teller Services (Jetco) has commercially launched mobile NFC services in Hong Kong and Macau using Gemalto’s Allynis Trusted Services Hub (TSH). Jetco is the largest automatic teller machine (ATM) network in the region consisting of 32 member banks. The Hub provides an aggregation service for banks and service providers, delivering secure over-the-air provisioning of payment credentials to their customers’ NFC phones. This will allow users to pay for their goods, services, and transportation fees with a simple tap of their smartphones.

Chan Wai Sin to monitor hospital construction

The dismissed director of the Conde de São Januário Central Hospital, Chan Wai Sin, will be monitoring the construction of the Islands Hospital, Alexis Tam revealed yesterday. The Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture said that the replacement of Chan Wai Sin by Kuok Cheong U ahead of the Conde de São Januário Central Hospital (CHCSJ) is part of ‘normal staff mobility’ processes. Chan Wai Sin will remain as director of the CHCSJ until the end of this month.

Residential mortgage loans up

New approvals of residential mortgage loans (RMLs) increased, while those of commercial real estate loans decreased in February 2015.  According to statistics released by the Monetary Authority of Macau, in February 2015 new RMLs approved by local banks increased 37.8 pct month-to-month to MOP5.3 billion, of which 97.9 pct were extended to residents. In terms of value, new RMLs to residents increased 39.6 pct whereas those allocated to non-residents decreased 15.7 pct. When compared with the same period in 2014, new approvals of RMLs witnessed an increase of 106.9 pct.

Man lights fire on stairwell before moving home

A Filipino migrant worker allegedly set fire to debris that was placed in a stairwell of the building in which he had lived. According to the Judiciary Police (PJ), the arson occurred last Saturday in a residential building located in the Fai Chi Kei area. The next day, the suspect relocated from the building to another area. The man denied the accusation that he had committed the crime, and claimed that he was a cleaner. However, the PJ said that both the neighbors’ testimony and the closed circuit television monitor had showed signs of him committing the arson, and that his own statements were conflicting.