Finance secretary optimistic for Macau’s future

Macau’s new Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lei Wai Nong, on Friday said the government was cautiously optimistic about Macau’s economic prospects, noting a number of new casinos to open in the near future. 

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Lei said that 2019 saw its fifth-highest annual revenue from the casino gaming sector in nearly 20 years.

Gross gaming revenue in 2019 reached around MOP292.5 billion (US$36.5 billion), down 3.4 percent. 

Mr. Lei noted that mass-market revenue outperformed VIP in 2019, with mass-market revenue representing 53.7 percent of the aggregate number while VIP revenue was about 46.3 percent. 

He also noted that VIP revenue decrease 18.5 percent year-on-year, while mass-market revenue grew 16.7 percent. Slot machine revenue also saw growth. 

Speaking about the results, Mr. Lei said that stronger mass-market performance was crucial for the healthy development of the gaming sector. 

Mr. Lei also noted that the government will be devoting much attention to supervising the development of the local gaming sector and ensuring sustainable development in light of the city’s current gaming concessions and sub-concessions that are set to expire in 2022.

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