July should not warrant austerity measures says Lionel Leong

Thursday 2nd of July 2015

The government is prepared to resort to austerity measures if July’s gaming revenue fails to reach MOP18.35 billion, though it will unlikely come to that, said the secretary for economy and finance.

Lionel Leong said as July has tends to generate more revenue than June due to the inflow of tourists, the government and industry’s goal “should be able [within] reach,” The Macau Daily reported.

Though gaming revenues in June reached a 5-year-low, recording a 36-percent drop year, the secretary said GGR was 14.7 percent lower than May’s, which is less than the estimated 20 percent.

“In the past five years, June’s gaming revenue has always been lower than May, with the biggest drop being 26 percent. So the rate of decline for this June has actually narrowed,” he told the media on the sidelines of the inauguration of the new Financial Services Bureau leaders.

“Therefore, [gaming revenue] should be able to achieve an increase of MOP1 billion from the current MOP17.35 billion. However, the previous experience was based on an upward trend, whereas now we are in an adjustment phase; we should all be attentive to apparent fluctuations,” he was quoted as saying by the Macau Daily.

Leong said that since Macau’s woes began, the Labor Affairs Bureau has received a total of 59 complaints regarding employment issues involving eight VIP gambling rooms.