Macau’s casino stocks surge as Guangdong authorities relax travel restrictions to the world’s gambling capital

Macau casino stocks soared on Tuesday as neighbouring Guangdong province eased Covid-19 travel restrictions that have contributed to massive losses in revenue in the world’s biggest gambling town.

Galaxy Entertainment closed with a 6.2 per cent gain at HK$54, after shooting up as much as 11.1 per cent, while Sands China, which also has a huge presence in Macau’s hot Cotai Strip of glittering new casino clusters, finished ahead by 5 per cent at HK$32.35, after jumping as much as 8.9 per cent.

Guangdong province will lift its 14-day quarantine requirement for visitors crossing the Macau-Guangdong border, beginning on July 15. Visitors must hold “green” health codes and have tested negative for Covid-19 for seven days before crossing.

The step is a move toward the eventual lifting of all restrictions for visitors from the province, who accounted for nearly half of all visitors to Macau last year.

The easing was a “positive surprise” and “an incremental step to border reopening and will lead to higher visitation and profitability,” said Jefferies’ gaming analyst Andrew Lee, who has a “buy” recommendation on Sands China, and “hold” calls on Galaxy and Wynn Macau, which rose 6.6 per cent to HK$14.30.

The visa programme that allows Guangdong residents to visit Macau – the Individual Visit Scheme – is still suspended, Lee pointed out. The visa programme accounts for 73 per cent of Guangdong arrivals in Macau.