Macau Casino stocks rise on lifting of quarantine for last China regions

News of the easing of travel restrictions for the last two remaining Mainland China regions, Hebei and Heilongjiang Provinces, by the Macau government has caused Macau casino stocks to surge to a two and a half month high, according to Bloomberg.

Removal of 14-day quarantine for travellers from the two mainland China provinces means that all individuals entering from Mainland China to Macau will no longer need to undergo medical observation or self-quarantine.

Sands China Ltd. stocks rose 10 percent, whilst Galaxy gained 12 percent. Melco, MGM and Wynn each rose around nine percent.

“Easing quarantine policy between mainland China and Macau could provide a ground for foot traffic improvement for Macau casinos,” according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Angela Hanlee. “We now need to watch how the mainland’s policy toward overseas gambling is in March as it does not want Macau to become an infrastructure facilitating that.”

Macau has been in dire need of arrivals from Mainland China, the most recent reported figures saw Macau visitation falling 80.5 percent in January year-on-year.

Beijing has been pressed by Macau’s tourism authorities to restart the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) electronic visa, which would allow for more seamless travel between the two countries.

MGTO director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes as well as industry experts agree that the in-person process would make them hesitant, and a switch back to a digital application process would increase visitor numbers significantly.

Source: casinocompendium.com