THE MACAU METRO MONITOR, JULY 1 2013
JUNE GGR DICJ
MOP 28.269 billion (27.44 HKD, 3.54 USD), up 21.1% YoY
AERL BUYS LE ROYAL ARC VIP ROOM Macau Business
Asia Entertainment and Resources Ltd (AERL) has completed its acquisition of Level 1 of Le Royal Arc Casino in NAPE.
The VIP gaming room has six tables and is operated under SJM Holdings Ltd’s concession. The junket operator says it now operates 40 tables in five VIP rooms.
NEW GONGBEI CHECKPOINT COMMENCED OPERATION Macau Daily News, Macau Business Daily
The east and west wings of Zhuhai Gongbei Port Joint Inspection Building have been completed and operational end of June. Waiting time for Mainland Chinese visiting Macau will be shortened.
When the building is fully operational, the reception capacity at Gongbei Port, with 80 e-channels and 98 counters, will be increased to 500,000 passengers per day. Whether or not the first floor of the expansion projects will be open throughout the day or only open to relief pressure during rush hours has not yet been decided.
Gongbei customs post supervisor and a Macau deputy at China's National People's Congress, Lao Ngai Leong, said that the additional channels currently available can already help to handle “the present daily traffic of 260,000 or 270,000 travellers a day”. "The biggest problem now” is the lack of staff on the Zhuhai side of the border, he stressed.
PANEL URGES MORE SCRUTINY OF US COMPANIES IN MACAU KHOU
A congressional advisory panel says U.S. regulators should tighten up scrutiny of casino companies operating in the top gambling market of Macau because of the risk of money laundering. Commissioner Michael Wessel said there should be stricter scrutiny of Nevada-based companies that operate in Macau. He said regulators need to "go deeper."
JUNKET OPERATORS EXPAND BUSINESS STREAMS Macau Business
Junket operators, are branching out into new businesses, establishing themselves as multinational conglomerates with the government’s blessing. Suncity Group, one of the city’s biggest junket operators, has branched out into mining, financial services, real estate, food and drink, films and media. It operates throughout Greater China and further afield. Jimei Group has expanded into wealth management and securities. There are examples of junket operators investing in financial services and pawnshops.
GAMBLING ARRIVALS CONTINUE TO SHRINK Macau Business
According to the Macau Visitor Profile Survey, the proportion of tourists reporting to come in Macau primarily for gambling shrank to 6.2% in 4Q 2012, down from 7.2% in 3Q 2012. Arrivals primarily for pleasure or holiday purposes comprised 76.5 percent of those surveyed.
