Fitch predicts Macau GGR may reach only 27% of 2019 levels this year

Analysts have lowered their expectations because Macau is still affected by restrictions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Macau.- Analysts at Fitch have lowered their forecast for Macau’s gross gaming revenue this year. They say GGR may reach just 27 per cent of pre-pandemic levels mainly due to continuous restrictions linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Analysts said: “We have updated Macau’s gross gaming revenue recovery curve to reflect our performance forecasts for 2022 to 2024 compared with 2019 levels at -73 per cent, -50 per cent and -30 per cent, respectively.”

Macau has said it will amend its gross gaming revenue (GGR) forecast as part of an amendment to Macau’s 2022 fiscal budget plan

In May, the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau reported that Macau’s gross gaming revenue in May was up 2.8 per cent when compared to April. However, Macau’s GGR for the first five months of 2022 combined stands at MOP23.79bn (US$2.95bn), down 44 per cent year-on-year.

Despite the ongoing economic impact, Macau’s chief executive Ho Iat Seng said that Covid-19 countermeasures will only be eased in late summer if the risk of contagion is considered “moderate”.

Mainland China continues to be the only country to have a largely quarantine-free travel bubble with Macau.