Despite U.S. President elect Donald Trump’s anti-China rhetoric, a Union Gaming analyst believe that Macau’s gaming industry will remain unscathed.
Union Gaming analyst John Decree believes that Trump’s anti-China sentiment will not have dire consequences on the Western gaming industry’s relationship with the Chinese government. He sees the Trump administration to be a net neutral toward Macau’s gaming investors.
“Generally the relationship between the gaming industry and Macau is pretty insulated from China’s broader market, so even if there are escalating tensions, the casinos in the region probably won’t be affected,” Decree said in an interview with TheStreet.
Big western casino operators like Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands have invested heavily in the former Portuguese enclave for the past few decades to make it Asia’s premier gaming hub. The era of high rollers in Macau ended after Chinese President Xi Jingping launched a corruption crackdown in 2015.
Macau has seen its revenue tumble for 26 consecutive months before chalking up modest growth in the past three months.
To boost Macau’s growth, Decree believes that China should heed Trump’s advice to stop artificially devaluing the Yuan. It would be recalled that Trump has vowed to the electorate that he plans “to get tough” on China by lodging trade cases against the country and branding it as currency manipulator.
For Decree, a stronger Yuan will bring more mainland tourist to the Chinese gaming hub.
Days before the election, Las Vegas Sands CEO Sheldon Adelson and MGM CEO Jim Murren are split on who to vote during the November 8 U.S. Presidential elections.
Murren, a lifelong Republican, picked Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton over the Republican bet, saying his voice was needed to combat the “accumulation of vitriol” he saw in the Trump campaign.
Sheldon, on the other hand, stood behind Trump and contributed an estimated $25 million to the businessman’s campaign kitty. He announced his endorsement to Trump through an op-ed published in the Washington Post. His support for Trump, however, waned after the businessman committed several political gaffes.
