Fitch expects Macau’s GDP in 2021 to be 35% of 2019 levels

The reputable rating agency Fitch Ratings Inc expects Macau’s gambling gross revenue (GGR) this year to be nearly 65% below 2019 levels, when the COVID-19 pandemic had yet to make its mark. But the organization’s report indicates that this figure will recover by 35% by 2022, and by 2024 it will fully recover lost ground.

According to statistics, Macau’s casino GGR in 2019 reached a mark of 292.4 billion patacas ($36.5 billion). Fitch analysts estimate that gross revenue from the gambling industry will be approximately 102.4 billion patacas this year.

Note that in April, the rating agency said it expected Macau’s GGR to recover “to about half” of its “pre-Victorian years” levels. Concurrently, the region’s top officials projected that the casino industry’s 2021 figure in question would be 130 billion patacas. That’s 44.5 percent below 2019 levels. The government said on this occasion that recovery from the pandemic will take time.

Macau’s total casino GGR for the first eight months of 2021 reached nearly 61.91 billion patacas, up 70.1% from the 36.39 billion recorded in 2020. However, the result was 68.8% lower than in the first eight months of 2019.

The Fitch report focused on U.S. casino operator Las Vegas Sands Corp, parent company of gambling giant Macau Sands China Ltd. It operates the massive Marina Bay Sands entertainment resort in Singapore.

In a memo, Fitch analysts said they found “a slightly faster recovery trajectory” for Singapore, “which has a high level of vaccination, enjoys sufficient domestic demand and is starting to resume non-quarantine communications with a select list of countries.”

Recall that 888 Holdings was awarded the right to acquire William Hill’s European business for $2.7 billion.