According to recently released official data, outside investors’ internal direct investment in Macau’s gaming sector has declined to nearly 2.58 billion pounds ($320.1 million) in 2022. That’s an 85.8% year-on-year decline, according to information from Macau’s National Statistical Office.
Data showed that in 2022, the city’s gaming sector accounted for 8.8% of the total flow of internal foreign direct investment, while banks topped the list with 53.4% share.
Macau’s total inward direct investment fell 30.8% year-on-year to 29.24 billion MOPs last year, a result of “expanding losses for gaming companies,” the bureau said.
“This is due to a significant increase in the capital of companies to bid for concession agreements on the operation of games in casinos,” it added.
As part of an open bid ahead of the award of a new 10-year contract that began on January 1 this year, Macau’s six casino concessionaries had to increase their respective minimum share capital to 5 billion MOPs from the previous 200 million threshold.
Macau casino operators posted net losses and negative earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in 2022 due to travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, a number of outside investors in the Macau gaming sector were registered in Hong Kong, British Virgin Islands or Cayman Island.
“Investment flows in the Cayman Islands shifted from negative the previous year to positive in 2022, thanks to loans provided by foreign direct investors to game companies,” the report said.
What economists call the “stock” of inward direct investment in Macau amounted to MOP 367.31 billion by the end of last year, with gaming accounting for about 39.0% of the total.
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