Macau’s market will grow by 7.5 percent in 2013 if one security and investment broker is to be believed. Macau’s latest early Christmas gift came from Kim Eng Securities who think that mass-market growth will push the market onto new levels with growth of 25 percent in 2013. KES think the market will continue to push towards the Cotai strip as infrastructure improves and they told Bloomberg: “We are optimistic on the mass market segment growth as Cotai transforms into a world class tourism destination.” KES’s number comes in above the modest estimate made by the Macau government of 6.3 percent growth in 2013.
Singapore is another of Asia’s current casino powerhouses with the country’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong admitting to Bloomberg that economically they entered the market at the right time. Loong told Bloomberg: “Economically, it’s been a great success. We were lucky with their timing. They started early enough so that when the financial crisis came they didn’t stop it and when it was completed, the financial crisis had gone and they were ready to catch the wind.”
The PM acknowledged there are social factors that come with gambling expansion and was realistic in stating that if gambling is “going to happen, let it happen in a controlled and productive way.”
The Philippines is the other big gun in this region and a property consultant thinks it can “challenge” both Macau and Singapore. Rick Santos, chairman at CBRE Group, is optimistic the group of islands can surpass Las Vegas in the near future and go on to “challenge” the other Asia gambling centres as long as the government continues to support such projects. Growth in the country is underpinned by the Entertainment City development that will include a $1billion casino.
