Nomura: CNY “an important revenue window”
Last week, the director of the Macau Government Tourism Office warned that MGM Cotai may not have its hotel license in time to open for the Chinese New Year, as previously announced.
The oft-delayed HKD27 billion (US$3.45 billion) integrated resort is the second property developed by Macau-based gaming operator MGM China Holdings Ltd.
Maria Helena Senna Fernandes said the MGTO is “still waiting for the assessment reports from other departments involved in the process. If everything meets the required standards, we can move forward with the inspection and, eventually, issue the license.”
Time is running short. Chinese New Year, a peak time for gambling in Macau, falls on Friday, February 16.
In response to the news, Japanese brokerage Nomura said, “We’ve spoken with MGM China management and are comfortable that the delay is not a meaningful issue for the company. To some degree, it is related to governmental approval backlog, although we believe that most of it is a local management decision.”
Nomura believes MGM Cotai could have opened at the end of January “with a herculean effort,” reported GGRAsia, but “wanted a bit more time synching the non-casino amenities” and to train rookie staff members.
“There will be no loss attributable to the delay, and customer deposits will be either refunded or credited to the players’ accounts for future visits,” said the Nomura team. “We believe that management will take reservations for Chinese New Year, an important revenue window no operator wants to miss.”
