Last Friday (9 August), lawmaker Chan Chak Mo, who heads a Legislative Assembly committee studying the bill against gambling crimes, told media that a new provision would be added to criminalise illegal money exchanges that take place on casino premises.
The jail term for currency conversion violations ranges from one month to five years, while those found guilty could also be banned from casinos for between two and 10 years.
Shares in Galaxy Entertainment Group were down 4.38 per cent at the close of trading on Monday, hitting a three-year low.
Following the announcement, Citigroup analysts George Choi and Ryan Cheung put a downside 30-day short-term view on Macau’s gaming sector, flagging a potential near-term share price volatility.
Citigroup indicated that investors’ concern may be exaggerated, pointing to several positive indicators signaling improvement, such as increased visitation, recovery in mass gross gaming revenue, improved industry EBITDA margins, and the normalisation of gearing ratios. The criminalisation of unauthorised money exchanges in Macau could lead to near-term share price weakness, brokerage firm Citigroup has warned in a recent note.
