Welcome upturn for Macau casino firms

The value of individual shares in Macau’s six licensed casino operators reportedly rallied earlier today following positive news regarding aggregated gross gaming revenues, local border restrictions and the roll-out of coronavirus vaccinations.

According to a report from Inside Asian Gaming, Galaxy Entertainment Group Limited saw the value of its singular shares rise by almost 9.2% to about $9.83 while fellow Hong Kong-listed operator SJM Holdings Limited recorded a 7.9% boost to approximately $1.44. The source detailed that the Sands China Limited subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands Corporation similarly chalked up an over 7.5% increase to around $4.97 as Wynn Resorts Limited’s lucrative Wynn Macau Limited subordinate posted a 4.97% swell to nearly $1.97.

Further flourishes:

MGM Resorts International reportedly moreover benefitted from this surge as the value of individual shares in its MGM China Holdings Limited enterprise rose by 4.89% on the Hong Kong bourse to in the region of $1.77 with Nasdaq-listed Melco Resorts and Entertainment Limited so far experiencing an analogous 2.25% uplift to roughly $19.10.

Real ramifications:

These improvements are reportedly almost certainly down to a recent decision from officials in mainland China to downgrade the coronavirus hazard level for several formerly high and medium-risk areas of the country to the lowest possible grade. This purportedly came after Beijing had earlier implemented ‘stay in place’ orders for several of its regions that had resulted in business at Macau casinos being negatively impacted during the usually-profitable Chinese New Year period.

Constructive consequences:

The Asian branch of financial services giant JP Morgan Securities reportedly declared that this reclassification ‘probably signals that China is increasingly comfortable on easing travel restrictions’ which could, in turn, ‘help to improve sentiment and confidence in long-haul and cross-border travel’. The brokerage purportedly proclaimed that the share price rally furthermore follows Macau’s decision to begin vaccinating its general population against coronavirus as well as news that daily aggregated gross gaming revenues have more than doubled over the course of the past two weeks to currently sit in the region of $58 million.