Macau Casino Stocks Rebound On News Of Visa Ban Being Lifted

Macau came out of nowhere and took the casino industry by storm a few years ago. They quickly became the casino gambling capital of the world, surpassing Las Vegas.

Now, they have fallen from grace almost as quickly as they rose. New laws regulating the amount of visits residents from mainland China can make to Macau have hurt the casino industry badly.

This week, casino stocks rebounded on the idea that the visa laws would soon be lifted by the Chinese government. "We expect the mainland Chinese visa restrictions to be lifted by mid-next year, which will drive a rebound in visitation into Macau once again. With this in mind, we still believe that the longer term fundamentals for Macau's gaming sector remain sound," said Macquarlie gaming analyst, Gary Pinge.

In addition to the visa restrictions, Macau has also been hurt by the growing worldwide credit crisis. A couple of Las Vegas casino companies have put plans of expansion in Macau on hold because of the crisis.

The companies have expressed an interest in continuing their projects down the road, but for now, expansion has slowed to almost a stand still in Macau. in response, stocks have dropped drastically.

The word of a possible lift of the mainland visa laws could be the news that will once again revive some of the delayed casino projects in Macau.

December 18, 2008
Posted By Terry Goodwin
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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