Macau’s gambling industry revenue is likely to rebound from a disappointing May and post growth of 15 percent in June. Citi Group analysts, quoted by Macau Business, think the enclave will fly in the face of any doubters that might be lurking with revenue reaching MOP24 billion (US$3billion) for the sixth month of the year. The month is being looked upon as “an indication of where the floor is for Macau in 2012”, and numbers were devised off the back of June’s first three days posting revenue of MOP2.7 billion. For all the disappointment at May being the slowest growth figures in around three years it was still the second largest month on record for the enclave.
Macau’s government could seize land belonging to a company owned by a man convicted of corruption and money laundering. Chinese Estates, which owns five plots of land by the airport, may see the land grabbed as the corruption is linked to the awarding of the plots. The office of the Secretary for Transport and Public Works stated: “We will not exclude the possibility of declaring the land approval and transfer of the five plots of land invalid.”
The government will wait for the court case against the chairman of Chinese Estates, Joseph Lau, to be completed before making any decision. Gambling industry companies could be watching the case closely just in case there’s any opportunity for them to capitalize. The plot is next to Macau International Airport and might represent a lucrative chance for casino business firms.
Asia Entertainment and Resources Ltd (AERL) continues to outperform the enclave as a whole with rolling chip turnover (RCT) at their VIP rooms rising 14 percent in May to $1.559 billion. The company, which operates VIP rooms at three Macau casinos, saw their RCT for the first five months of the year increase by 26 percent to US$8.701 billion and chairman Lam commented: “Although May was a slow month in Macau, we were pleased to once again outpace overall Macau revenue growth. We are hopeful that Rolling Chip Turnover growth will pick up during the upcoming months.”
