Macau’s gaming inward investment plunged 85.8% in 2022

Authorities attributed the decline to the increase in the capital as operators bid for new casino concessions.

Macau.- Macau’s Statistics and Census Service has reported that foreign investment in the city’s gaming sector fell by 85.8 per cent to MOP2.58bn (US$320.1m) in 2022. The city’s gaming sector contributed 8.8 per cent of overall inward foreign direct investment for the year. Banking made the biggest contribution at 53.4 per cent.

In 2022, Macau saw a total of MOP29.24bn in inward direct investment, representing a year-on-year decrease of 30.8 per cent. The decrease in the contribution from gaming was attributed to the increase in capital required by operators as they bid for the new casino concessions.

Macau’s six casino concessionaires had to raise their share capital to MOP5bn from the previous MOP200m minimum as part of the tender process for 10-year concessions. Authorities noted that many foreign investors in Macau’s gaming sector were based in either Hong Kong, the British Virgin Islands or the Cayman Islands. According to the report, investment flows from the Cayman Islands transitioned from negative to positive in 2022, attributed to loans provided to gaming enterprises by foreign investors.

The stock of inward direct investment in Macau reached MOP367.31bn by the end of 2022, with the gaming sector accounting for approximately 39 per cent of the total.