Macao’s gaming industry should benefit from Beijing’s latest stimulus package, which aims to rejuvenate the country’s lacklustre consumer spending, says US-headquartered brokerage Seaport Research Partners.
In a memo cited by GGR Asia, Vitaly Umansky, a senior Seaport analyst, said that the central government’s “ambitious plans to boost consumption and improve consumer confidence … should provide a positive tailwind for Macao’s revenues.”
The analyst also noted that the stimulus package should help support the city’s gaming industry beyond 2025. He said that the recent expansion of various policies making it easier to travel between the mainland and Macao was another cause for optimism.
[See more: Beijing unveils action plan to ‘vigorously’ boost consumption]
Beijing unveiled its Special Action Plan to boost consumption last Sunday, the latest in a series of stimulus measures announced since September of last year. The plan includes promoting wage growth through improving minimum wage adjustment mechanisms and the expansion of property income channels.
Umansky said that while “helicopter money” in the form of cash handouts was not mentioned in the plan, the government’s concern around weak demand had shifted its focus towards prioritising the “consumer economy.”
“We expect that over the medium term, these measures will help support [Macao’s] demand growth,” he said. “Improvement in consumer confidence and expansion of consumer wallets should provide long-term support to the growth of Macao’s base mass customer base.”
