By Tony Lai
Ghost T
The closure for all casinos for at least half a month and the plunge in the visitation in view of the outbreak of the novel coronavirus will take a toll on the local economy, and any recovery depends on how long the epidemic lasts.
N 20 MARCH 2020
Ghost Town
o more glitz, at least for the moment. Taking an extraordinary move to curb the outbreak of a new strain of coronavirus, which is from the same family that caused the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic in the late
2002-2003 period, the Macau government has ordered the closure of all 41 casinos in the city for at least 15 days starting from the midnight on 5th February. It was the latest hit to the gaming-reliant economy, which
has already been dragged down in recent times by a plunge in the visitation to the city, as Macau and Beijing try to curtail this new pneumonia-like illness, which is believed to have originated in the Chinese central city of Wuhan. While analysts are still assessing how long and profound the economic impact might be, the economic outlook in the next few months are – without any doubt – grim. In a press conference announcing the closure of all 41
casinos here, as well as cinemas, theatres, fi tness clubs, beauty salons, discos, bars, nightclubs, and other entertainment venues, for half a month, Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng: “This is, of course, a diffi cult decision, but we have to do it for the health of Macau’s residents.” “We will have no [gaming] revenue in this half of a month,
15-day shutdown might result in a MOP12-billion (US$1.5 billion) loss in gaming revenue; February gaming revenue to decline up to 75 per cent, reducing the 2020 annual revenue by 6 per cent
Visitation fi gure in February might drop 80 per cent
Analysts only see the recovery of gaming industry, tourism, and other sectors in the second half of this year at the soonest
Large corporations, retailers, and SMEs also temporarily suspend their operations or shorten the opening hours amid the casino shutdown and virus outbreak
Macau government pledges to roll out an array of measures to support the economy
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94
