The Macau Metro Monitor, March 11, 2013

FRANCIS LUI CONFIDENT GALAXY MACAU WILL GET ENOUGH TABLES Macau Business

Galaxy chairman Francis Lui says he is confident the gaming operator will get enough live gaming tables for the upcoming phases of its Galaxy Macau casino resort, in Cotai.  According to figures previously released, Galaxy Macau’s phase two will have around 500 live gaming tables, phase three around 600 and phase four another 400.  He added that currently no gaming operator in Macau is really short of tables, but stressed the tables could be more evenly distributed among the six concessionaries.

CHINA FEB NEW LOANS AT 620 BLN YUAN, M2 UP 15.2% YoY Reuters

China's M2 measure of money supply grew 15.2% in February from a year earlier, in line with market expectations of a 15.1% rise and down slightly from the previous month's 15.9% rise, central bank data showed on Sunday.  Chinese banks also made 620 billion yuan worth of new loans in February, down from market forecasts of 750 billion yuan.

INDIVIDUAL VISA NEEDS OPTIMIZATION: LIAISON OFFICE Macau Business

The director of the Central People's Government Liaison Office in Macau, Bai Zhijian, said that Macau should focus on how to optimise the individual visitor scheme for mainland Chinese tourists, but should not tighten the policy.  Bai said the city should “strive for a balance” in serving both residents and visitors.  His comments came after the government’s think tank announced it will carry out a study to assess the effect of the mainland’s individual visa scheme on the city’s economic development.