Macau casino stocks surge with new Chinese travel permits

Added: April 29, 2024

Macau casino companies’ shares surged dramatically as a result of China introducing new travel permits aimed at boosting Macau tourism.

Melco International Development Ltd. experienced a fourteen percent rise in its shares, marking the largest increase since December 2022. The share prices of other businesses, such as Sands China Ltd. and Galaxy Entertainment Group, increased as well.

Starting the sixth of May, anyone from China’s mainland can obtain a permit allowing them to travel to Macau, the world’s largest gambling city, several times a year. With this permit, they will be able to attend events, receive healthcare, and engage in the arts and entertainment.

To aid Macau in recovering from a decline in tourism and spending brought on by COVID-19 and economic uncertainty, some travel restrictions have been loosened. Despite increasing to eighty-one percent of its 2019 level by December, Macau’s gambling income fell to seventy-five percent in March.

According to analysts, these shifts indicate China’s intention to establish Macau as the primary gambling destination for its citizens. Increased tourism to Macau is anticipated as a result of the new permit, which permits multiple entry. This is particularly crucial since the VIP gambling industry, which formerly accounted for half of Macau’s gambling revenue, has been negatively hit by new rules in China.

Furthermore, visitors traveling to Macau and the neighboring island of Hengqin in tour groups are granted a special permit that allows them to visit both locations several times over the course of seven days—as long as they remain with their group.

Allowing business visitors to remain for as long as fourteen days instead of only seven, and expediting the processing of licenses are two further new measures aimed at bolstering Macau’s tourism and economy.

China, Macau