THE M3: POLICY ADDRESS, NEW CASINO REGULATION, MORTGAGE LENDING, VISITATION & HOTEL OCCUPANCY

03/16/10 08:36AM EDT

The Macau Metro Monitor, March 16th, 2010


NO SURPRISES IN POLICY ADDRESS macaubusiness.com

In his Policy Address, Macau CEO Fernando Chui Sai-on did not announce any cap on the numbers of tables, slot-machines or casinos. The government also reaffirmed its intention to raise the minimum age to 21 for entering in casinos, but gave no date for the introduction of the measure. As expected, Chui believed Macau should diversify its economy and support the growth of its MICE (Meeting, incentive, convention and exhibtion) business. He stressed regional cooperation among Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Chui reaffirmed the government’s target of creating more public housing by building 19,000 units and stressed the importance of the construction of public infrastructures like the new hospital in Cotai and the light railway system. Chui did not say anything about wage increases.


MACAU GOVERNMENT TO REGULATE THE BUILDING OF CASINOS Reuters

"Apart from those we have agreed in principle in the past, in construction and those already approved, we will regulate (approval of the building of new casinos) in the future," Chui said at a news conference on Tuesday. Chui also said the government planned to set up a regulatory body to monitor the growth of the gambling industry.

MORTGAGE LENDING BOOST macaubusiness.com

The Monetary Authority of Macau released data showing a 6.2% increase in new mortgages approved QoQ to MOP 6.6BN . The number of new commercial real estate loans (CRELs) approved dramatically increased by 88% from the previous quarter to MOP6.3BN. The delinquency ratio for RMLs (residential mortgage loans) fell 0.04% to 0.19%, while the delinquency ratio for CRELs dropped 0.10% since end-September 2009 to 0.23%.


PACAKGE TOURS AND HOTEL OCCUPANCY RATE FOR JANUARY 2010  DSEC

The number of visitor arrivals in package tours increased 9.7% YoY to 458,920 in January 2010. Visitors from Mainland China (328,956) rose by 5.1% YoY. Meanwhile, the number of Macau residents traveling outbound in package tours dropped 4.5% year-on-year to 28,471, with mainland China being the most popular destination. At the end of January 2010, the total number of available guest rooms increased by 1,548 (+8.8%) YoY to 19,086 rooms. A total of 664,403 guests checked into hotels and guest-houses in January 2010, up by 26.6% YoY. The average occupancy rate of the hotels and guest-houses soared by 16.0% year YoY to 81.6%.

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