Macau Sept Gambling Revenue Rises 39% On Year To MOP21.24 Billion
04 October 2011 - 6:38PM
Dow Jones News
Gambling revenue in Macau rose 39% in September from a year
earlier, government statistics showed Tuesday, as high rollers from
mainland China continued to fuel growth despite heightening
investor fears that China's tightening measures will slash
business.
Gambling revenue in the Chinese territory rose to MOP21.24
billion (US$2.65 billion) last month, up from MOP15.30 billion a
year earlier, according to data from Macau's Gaming Inspection and
Coordination Bureau. Analysts said the figure would have been even
higher had it not been for a typhoon that hit the area
Thursday.
The solid growth comes despite sharp declines in global
financial markets sparked by Standard & Poor's downgrade of
U.S. sovereign debt in early August. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang
Seng Index tumbled 14% in the month of September, and shares of
Macau casino operators have plummeted in recent trade with the
territory's largest operator by revenue, SJM Holdings Ltd.
(0880.HK), dropping 26% Monday alone.
Macau overtook the Las Vegas Strip as the world's biggest
gambling market in 2006 and is poised to rake in over five times
the Strip's gambling revenue this year, with analysts and casino
executives saying it is business as usual in the booming
territory.
In the January-September period, Macau's gambling revenue rose
46% from a year earlier, adding to a 58% surge in 2010.
-By Kate O'Keeffe, Dow Jones Newswires; 852-2802-7002;
kathryn.okeeffe@dowjones.com