Macau bounces into Year of the Rabbit

Sands China

19/01/2023 01:27

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist.  The opinions
expressed are her own.)
    By Katrina Hamlin
       HONG KONG, Jan 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Spring has
sprung in the casino hub with the end of China’s zero-Covid.
Operators will return to profit. Yet from Sands to SJM, balance
sheets are stretched. How quickly they are repaired depends on
if punters spend as much as before. Pandemic policies will leave
other scars too.   
    Full view will be published shortly.
    Follow @KatrinaHamlin on Twitter
    CONTEXT NEWS
    Macau casino operators’ gross gaming revenue in the first
half of January was 4.3 billion pataca, around $500 million,
JPMorgan estimated in a note published on Jan. 16.
    Chinese and Hong Kong visitor arrivals in the gambling
enclave returned to around 40% of pre-pandemic levels as of Jan.
13, according to Morgan Stanley. Researchers also noted hotel
bookings looked strong for the upcoming Chinese New Year public
holiday, Jan. 21 to Jan. 27.
 (Editing by Una Galani, Pranav Kiran and Thomas Shum)
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