THE MACAU METRO MONITOR, JUNE 4, 2013
SJM STILL LEADER OF CASINO MARKET SHARE Macau Business
May GGR shares: SJM: 23%, LVS: 21%, Galaxy: 19%, MPEL: 14%, WYNN: 12%, and MGM: 11%.
CASINO FIRM GALAXY MULLS ACQUISITIONS, SPENDS HK$3.6 BILLION UPGRADING SCMP
Galaxy says it is looking for acquisitions in Macau. Francis Lui Yiu-tung, the group's deputy chairman, said most of the HK$3.6 billion additional budget (HK$ 19.6 billion in total) for the second-phase expansion of Galaxy Macau was used for upgrading decor and facilities to "better cater to market demand".
Lui said the company was adding more slot machines for the mass market. For Grand Waldo, which the group recently acquired for HK$3.25 billion, Lui said it would be positioned differently from Galaxy. He added that the company had not yet decided whether Grand Waldo would focus on the mass market while Galaxy Macau catered to high-end gamblers. The acquisition is set to be completed in the next quarter.
Galaxy group is also considering other purchases. "Land is the most difficult thing to come by. If we find any good investment opportunity around Galaxy facilities in Cotai, we will expand," said Lui.
TOKYO GOVERNOR REVIVES PLAN TO BUILD CASINO ASAHI SHIMBUN
Tokyo Governor Naoki Inose said he intends to set up a casino in the capital’s waterfront district, even though operating such gambling establishments is currently illegal in Japan. “I expect the Diet to revise the law as soon as possible,” he said at the metropolitan assembly session.
