On Monday, December 29, Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, an investment banking subsidiary of Wells Fargo & Co., stated in a special note that casino operator SJM Holdings Ltd. was the leader on Macau’s gaming market in December.
The company cited in its note unofficial data about local operators’ gaming revenues that were generated before December 28.
It was estimated that SJM Holdings held 24.1% market share by December 28 compared to 23.2% for the month before. It is important to note that the gaming operator does not own a casino on the Cotai Strip. Yet, it manages the so-called Grand Lisboa property in downtown Macau.
Wells Fargo announced that Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd. took the second spot. The company held 21.6% market share by December 28. By comparison, it had 21.8% one back in November. Sands China Ltd. took the third spot with 19.4% share. Previously, it held 22.1% one.
The fourth place was taken by Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. with 14.6%. By comparison, last month, Lawrence Ho’s company took 13.2% market share. MGM China Holdings Ltd. was listed fifth in Wells Fargo’s note with 10.2 % compared to 10.9% in November. And the sixth spot was taken by Wynn Macau Ltd. with 10.1%. The company held 8.8% market share a month ago.
According to the prominent investment institution, Macau’s revenue from gambling activities will drop by 31% as compared to last year’s numbers. By comparison, on December 26, Wells Fargo’s experts predicted that gaming turnover will fall by no more than 29%.
Cameron McKnight, an analyst for the investment company, stated that the average daily revenue for the remaining three days of this month was expected to reach approximately MOP700 million or US$87.6 million.
Investors will not be surprised, if Macau’s December gaming revenue marks a negative growth. And this is due to various factors. In the first place, a massive anti-corruption operation is currently taking place in mainland China. And it has already affected Macau’s gaming industry, for less and less people seem to engage in gambling activities.
The city’s relatively poor financial performance for the eleven-month period ended November 30 could be attributed to the above-mentioned anti-graft operation. By comparison, Macau tended to mark impressive gaming revenue growth in the past five years.
What is more, Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the administrative region and the concerns about its future that he publicly expressed also had a negative effect on casino market. As previously mentioned, Mr. Xi stated that Macau’s economy should become less dependent on gambling and local operators should focus their attention on other types of tourist attractions.
