July expected to reach MOP18b gaming revenue

The government will roll out austerity measures if this month’s gaming revenue fails to reach MOP18.35 billion, says the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lionel Leong. However, as July has tended to generate more revenue than June, Leong sees this as a goal that Macau “should be able to reach.”
Gross gaming revenue in June hit its lowest level in over four years, recording a 36-percent drop year-
on-year to MOP17.35 billion. Nevertheless, the secretary pointed out, “The drop was 14.7 percent compared with the gaming revenue in May, which is less than the estimated 20 percent.”
“In the past five years, June’s gaming revenue has always been lower than May, with the biggest drop being 26 percent. So the rate of decline for this June has actually narrowed,” he explained to the media on the sidelines of the inauguration of the new Financial Services Bureau leaders yesterday.
As to whether the government is confident of reaching the revenue goal set for July, Leong said, “According to previous experience, July has always scored better than June because of habitual tourist flows and the arrival of the summer holiday.”
“Therefore, [gaming revenue] should be able to achieve an increase of MOP1 billion from the current MOP17.35 billion. However, the previous experience was based on an upward trend, whereas now we are in an adjustment phase; we should all be attentive to apparent fluctuations,” he added.
In regard to Macau’s recent relaxation of restrictions placed upon mainland visitors’ travel as a measure to help support the gaming market, the secretary said that no response has been detected in the industry as a result of the new rule which was only implemented at the beginning of this month.
“The relaxation [of travel restrictions] was implemented wholly because of the new national ‘Belt and Road’ initiatives. We hope that more visitors and businesspeople will use Macau as a transit point en route to their destinations, so that Macau can perform as a better platform in the country’s development strategy,” he clarified, adding that the Secretariat for Economy and Finance was “pleased to see the new measure.”
Since the beginning of the downturn in the local gaming industry, a number of VIP gambling businesses have successively closed or downsized. Leong said that, in terms of employee layoffs, the Labor Affairs Bureau has received a total of 59 complaints involving eight VIP gambling rooms.
In addition, the secretary said that the government’s fiscal reserves have improved to the tune of about MOP6.9 billion in return on investment during the first five months of this year. He said that these investments are not capital-guaranteed and thus bear fluctuation and other risks. He stressed that the annual rate of return in those months reached 5 percent, which was due to a relatively good market; however, there is no guarantee that the market will maintain this current level.

Wong Sio Chak praises seven-day transit stay

The seven-day Macau transit mechanism for Chinese passport holders was adjusted to correspond with the development of Macau’s part in the “Belt and Road” initiative, Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak told media after yesterday’s graduation ceremony for the Academy of Public Security Forces. However, such a measure may still be subject to change, depending on how authorities evaluate the situation subsequent to the revision.
The secretary said that last year, under tightened restrictions and enforcement, the authorities had seen a drop in irregularities associated with transit visas, which counted as another favorable factor in the recent amendment.
Under the new rules, effective July 1, visitors with Chinese passports travelling through Macau to a third destination can enjoy a maximum of seven days in the city. Those violating the seven-day limit will be penalized by only being granted two days transit in the city upon a subsequent arrival within 30 days. Entry will be denied to offenders for 30 days if they are found infringing the transit regulations a further time.
Wong said that the authorities did not exclude the possibility of revising the measure if the frequency of irregularities was found to increase in the future.
The government had adjusted the transit measure last July, limiting Chinese travellers to five-day stays for transit only.