Analysts like the plan
Galaxy Entertainment Group is the latest Macau gaming operator to plan a family-friendly, Hollywood-themed amusement park, according to Bloomberg News.
Galaxy Chairman Lui Che-Woo said the theme park will be “something special and high-tech” that recalls the blockbuster film hit “Avatar.”
“Nowadays you see that all these theme parks all have different special ideas,” said Lui, “So we’re thinking of how to compete against them.” Galaxy will also be competing for mainstream and non-gaming consumers, who have become the focus of Macau resorts since the mass defection of VIPs. Since 2014, when the Chinese government kicked off an anti-graft campaign, many high rollers who once flocked to Macau’s many gaming halls have fled. The jurisdiction has lost an estimated $130 billion in market value in less than two years.
“Theme parks are a great idea and Macau is desperate for more non-gaming attractions,” CLSA Ltd. analyst Aaron Fischer told Bloomberg. “These investments are in line with government demands, so this will further strengthen relations and reduce the risk of the license not being renewed.”
Union Gaming analyst Grant Govertsen has given a thumbs-up to the plan. “While the development of Galaxy’s theme park will take several years, it reinforces our belief that has made both Sands China and Galaxy Entertainment our top picks, given our belief that the best way to play Macau is via mass market exposure,” he said. “The development of a theme park will, in our view, create a cluster effect on the west side of Cotai that should result in increased mass market wallet share for these properties.”
Galaxy’s theme park may not compete directly with a $5.5 billion Walt Disney Co. resort set to open in Shanghai in June, reported CalvinAyre.com. Lui said his version “will be smaller but unique.”
The theme park is not Galaxy’s first mainstream attraction. Its Macau Phase II and Broadway Macau projects, which opened last May, included a 3,000-seat theater to help boost Galaxy’s market share in the mass-market segment and in the process, beat fourth-quarter earnings estimates.
Galaxy Macau’s third and fourth phases will cost as much as HK$50 billion (US$6.4 billion). They were originally set to be under way by late 2013, but that timeline was changed in light of the downturn. Francis Lui, son of the chairman, said site investigation on the new phases is expected to start this year.
