Sands China: Gov’t deliberation on concession in ‘good progress’

Sands China has held several rounds of discussion with the government regarding the current gaming tender deliberation and is expecting a notice on the next development by the end of the month. 

The information was revealed by Wilfred Wong, president of Sands China, in a third quarter earnings call with analysts.

According to the executive, the group is waiting for the government notification on whether there will be another round of discussion and confirmed that the timetable remains the same.

“Everything is in good progress, and we expect some notification towards the end of the month for us to know the next steps,” he added.

The gaming operator is optimistic that the entire process will be concluded by the end of the year, as previously stated by the government.

The city’s gaming operators have all submitted their bids, competing for six concessions to operate for 10 years.

The government is currently deliberating on who among the seven companies that submitted proposals will acquire a concession. 

Rob Goldstein, chairman and CEO of Las Vegas Sands, has expressed that although the “operating environment remains difficult,” the parent company remains a “big believer in Macau as a world center of tourism and leisure.”

“We have been the biggest investor and have operated non-gaming businesses over the past two decades in Macau. We absolutely welcome the opportunity to invest even more in the non-gaming products and offerings in Macau,” Goldstein said during the earnings call. 

Pivoting to the resumption of group tours and e-visas by the end of the month or early November, the CEO said the group remains cautious about predicting the outcome of the easing of restrictions for mainland travelers.

“Predictions on Macau have been erroneous these last couple of years because we do not know who is going to come, and we do not know when they will close the market. It has been stopping the resumption of business for so long. It is silly for us to pontificate on the exact gains in EBITDA,” he said.

Casinos in the city have been burning millions of dollars in cash each day as gaming revenues continue to slump.

Although the local government is hopeful about the positive economic effects of visa resumptions, the spending power of these travelers is not as powerful as those traveling under Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) visas.

According to Grant Chum, CEO and executive director of Sands China, group package tours represented roughly one quarter of visits before the pandemic.

“With respect to electronic visas, we don’t have those numbers. Obviously, it varies significantly from province-to-province. But clearly, the provision or availability of that mode of application absolutely is helpful to facilitate the visa application for those relevant provinces.”

“Hopefully, as we get out further into the fourth quarter with these recent measures, we’re going to start to see a more well-rounded mix of visitation building up towards the end of the year,” he added. 

losses widen in Q3

The total net revenues for the gaming operator decreased to USD251 million, compared to USD611 million in the third quarter of 2021. The net loss was USD472 million, compared to USD423 million in the third quarter of 2021.