Macau's deadline for global gaming operators to submit bids for six new casino licenses ends tomorrow but analysts say that new investors are unlikely to throw in their hat into the ring.
Current license holder Sands China (1928) said it will submit its bid before the due date and remained confident in winning a license while SJM (0880) said it will do its best to win a license.
Macau's four other casino operators include Wynn Macau (1128), Galaxy Entertainment (0027), MGM China (2282) and Melco International Development (0200).
The licenses of the six current operators expire at the end of the year and they must bid for new licenses to remain in the Chinese special administrative region alongside new players also vying to operate. If they fail to renew the contracts, the current operators will be banned from operating casinos.
Analysts says the existing six operators hold the edge over newcomers who would have to fork out large amounts of cash to enter the gaming market, while the duration of licenses has been halved to 10 years.
And if any new investors won licenses, they might find it hard to compete with existing casino operators which already have hotels, shopping malls and catering services up and running.
Newcomers will also have to contend with Macau's revised gaming laws, in which concessionaires must maintain their net assets value above 5 billion patacas (HK$4.85 billion) during the entire concession period, and also pay taxes of 40 percent.
The result of the tenders are expected to be revealed by the end of October.
Meanwhile, the pandemic continues to keep tourists from mainland China away. Arrivals on September 10 amounted to 16,540, only 1.2 percent more than the daily visits of 16,302 from September 3 to 9, resulting in fewer sales in some places of interest, though the figure was up 52 percent from the 10,690 daily arrivals during August.
Macau's gaming revenue was just 2.19 billion patacas last month, about 9 percent of pre-pandemic levels.
Sands China's chief executive Wilfred Wong Ying-wai estimated that the arrivals in the global gaming hub will not surge again this year, as many local governments in the mainland have appeal to their residents to stay at home during the holidays.
However, Wong expects the occupancy rate at Macau's hotels could reach 70 percent during the seven-day National Day holiday in October.
Gaming revenue in August was 9 percent of pre-pandemic levels. Reuters
