Malaysians, Indonesians will spend less
Singapore’s mass-market gaming revenues are expected to decline as the Malaysian ringgit hits a new low against the Singapore dollar, according to analysts cited on AGBrief.com.
Malaysians and Indonesians lead mass-market play in the Southeast Asian republic. So the weakness of the ringgit will have an impact, even after Genting Singapore opens its new 550-room Hotel Jurong later this month, analysts said. The Jurong is the first major hotel to open in the western part of Singapore, according to the Straits Times.
Singapore draws about half its annual gaming revenues from mass-market visitors. “The weakening of those currencies further negatively impacts the tourist arrivals and hence the revenue potential from the mass-market in our view,” said Macquarie analyst Somesh Kumar Agarwal. He predicts Singapore’s mass-market volume will grow 5 percent this year, compared to 6 percent in 2014.
“Middle-class tourists are always looking at what their purchasing power is in the country they are visiting,” Jonathan Galaviz, a partner at consultancy Global Market Advisors, told Reuters. “If the value of their currency is going down fast comparatively to where they want to visit, they will opt for cheaper destinations or even simply just stay home.”
