Lui’s share purchase is a positive governance signal, CLSA says

Galaxy Entertainment Chairman Francis Lui’s HKD130.3 million purchase of shares in the Macau casino operator signals improving corporate governance and suggests that its controlling shareholder views the stock as undervalued, CLSA said in an Oct. 7 research note.

According to a Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing, Lui acquired 4.613 million Galaxy shares on Oct. 2 at HKD28.25 each, lifting his disclosed interest from 54.14% to 54.24%, as reported by the Times. The purchase, worth about US$16.6 million, represented roughly 16.3% of the company’s trading volume that day.

CLSA analyst Jeffrey Kiang described the transaction as “another sign of improving governance.” The brokerage said it marked the first net increase in Galaxy holdings by an insider since the second half of 2017, following what it described as the controlling shareholder’s first open-market share purchase.

Galaxy’s share price had fallen 20.1% through Oct. 6, 2026, compared with a 5.3% decline in the Hang Seng Index over the same period, according to figures cited by CLSA. All six major Hong Kong-listed Macau gaming groups had underperformed the benchmark.

Nevertheless, CLSA kept Galaxy as its sole top pick in the Macau gaming sector, citing its market share, cost control, a strengthening dividend payout ratio, and balance sheet.

At the end of the first half of the year, Galaxy reported net cash of US$4.6 billion and HKD37.7 billion in cash and liquid investments.

The brokerage said free cash flow was “poised to step up after 2027,” when it expects Galaxy Macau’s Phase 4 development to be completed. The expansion is intended to add hotel, entertainment, and non-gaming capacity as Macau’s concessionaires face pressure to diversify their tourism offerings.

CLSA expects Macau gross gaming revenue to rise 2% in 2026 and a further 2% in 2027, after cutting its forecasts amid concerns about slower growth and limited room for industry-wide margin expansion.

Kiang said Galaxy’s subsequent share-price performance would ultimately depend on its earnings delivery and the broader sector’s growth prospects.