H.K. visa changes not likely to affect Macau, Goldman Sachs says

Macau is not likely to see any major impact if the individual visitation scheme, which allows mainland Chinese to make independent visits to Hong Kong and Macau, is changed, Goldman Sachs said in a research note.

The U.S. investment firm said it had received several enquiries from clients about rumours Hong Kong will clamp down on visitors from China amid concern its infrastructure is unable to cope, but as yet there is no concrete proposal on policy changes.

Around 41 million mainland Chinese visited Hong Kong last year and about 3.8 million of them went on to visit Macau.

“We believe the impact on Macau, if any, would be from the 3.8mn travelers who visit both Macau and HK on the same trip,” it said.

Goldman Sachs said changes in policy may even benefit Macau, especially as new hotel rooms and retail space begins to come on line with the multi-billion dollar resorts scheduled to open in coming years. “If HK’s infrastructure cannot cope with continued growth of PRC tourist arrivals (+17% CAGR in 2003-13), we think some may end up spending more time in Macau,” it said.

 

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