Macau’s gross gambling revenue is heading for a 20 per cent increase in June, helped by the opening of Melco Resorts’ Morpheus Hotel.
Morgan Stanley said in a note that May’s weaker-than-expected figure was due to slower mass market growth, which could be attributed to a high base comparison figure in 2017 and one less weekend in the month.
Total visitor arrivals in the month were 2.7 million, up 5.2 per cent, with Chinese visitation up 8.3 per cent. Mass revenue growth in May was just 8.3 per cent.
Morgan Stanley said the underlying figures showed some interesting trends, with growth in visitor numbers from lower-tiered Chinese cities growing a much stronger 12.5 per cent compared with tier one cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, where visitor numbers grew 5.5 per cent.
The firm expects to see stronger mass market growth through August, as this sector of the market was relatively weak during the comparable period last year.
Source: Asia Gaming Brief
