Macau casinos permitted to reopen on Thursday

The government of Macau has opted not to extend the 15-day order that all of the territory's 41 casinos remain closed, paving the way for a return to business on Thursday.

Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong made the announcement on Monday, adding that casinos may apply for postponements reopening for up to thirty further days if they feel it better suits their business conditions.

Bernstein Research released a note arguing that, "With the visitation collapsing on the back of travel restrictions, we are not expecting a quick turnaround in the near term" and maintaining their view that "Q1 is obviously going to show awful results."

However, they also added that "we see Macau having a good recovery in 2H, with the rebound contingent on 1) the contagion being brought under control and travel into Macau resuming, and 2) China's economy not faltering materially and reducing customer confidence."

The Macau government had ordered the unprecedented closure of all casinos, as well as other public venues, as a measure to slow the spread of Covid-19 infection. However, Macau has reported no new cases in over a week.

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