{"id":311607,"date":"2024-02-22T09:32:48","date_gmt":"2024-02-22T15:32:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=311607"},"modified":"2024-02-22T10:50:47","modified_gmt":"2024-02-22T16:50:47","slug":"macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Macau Concessionaires\u2019 Debt Reduction Slow Process, Says Fitch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Macau casino operators should benefit from rising gross gaming revenue (GGR) as tourism to the gaming enclave from mainland China increases. But the process of reducing debt could take a while.<\/p>\n

\"Wynn
The Wynn Macau casino hotel. Macau operators could take a while to reduce debt. (Image: Bloomberg)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That’s according to Fitch Ratings, which said more credit upgrades for the concessionaires aren\u2019t likely over the near term. Earlier this month, the ratings agency upgraded<\/a> Sands China parent Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) to \u201cBBB-,” the lowest investment grade. Just days before that, Fitch reaffirmed Wynn Macau parent Wynn Resorts (NASDAQ: WYNN)<\/a> at \u201cBB-.\u201d<\/p>\n

The upswing in visitation and gaming revenue is likely to aid Fitch-rated casino operators with a presence in Macao in reducing their debt levels,\u201d<\/strong> observed the research firm. \u201cHowever, upside potential in their ratings is constrained by their elevated leverage metrics, as deleveraging will take time for some of the operators, despite the improvements.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The recent eight-day Chinese New Year holiday, which was a day longer than usual, was a boon for Macau casino companies. Visitation for that period reached 1.4 million, topping the 1.2 million seen in 2019, according to the Macao Government Tourism Office (MTGO).<\/p>\n

Macau Debt a Necessary Evil<\/h2>\n

Macau operators were forced to take on north of $20 billion during the coronavirus pandemic simply to stay afloat. Gaming venues in the special administrative region (SAR) didn\u2019t reopen in earnest until early 2023.<\/p>\n

\n

That delayed concessionaires\u2019 ability to make debt-reduction strides. But analysts and bondholders appear to be at peace with that, because it\u2019s widely expected the issuers will be able to handle a spate of maturities looming this year and in 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Additionally, while Macau stocks remain sluggish, there\u2019s strong appetite among global bond investors for debt issued by Macau casino operators. That is signaling that buyers believe default risk is minimal, despite the high-yield grades on those bonds.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not see significant further upside potential in the issuers\u2019 ratings in the near term, as reflected by their Stable Outlooks,\u201d added Fitch. \u201cSJM Holdings\u2019 leverage metric, in particular, remains high and is likely to fall to its rating thresholds only in 2026, in our view. There is also a risk that the recovery in Macao\u2019s gaming revenues could be slowed by possible policies to tighten capital outflow from the Chinese mainland.\u201d<\/p>\n

VIP Market Still Sluggish<\/h2>\n

The Macau recovery has been led by mass and premium mass players, with VIP action still tepid due to the fractured junket business.<\/p>\n

The VIP segment, however, is on a slower path to recovery and unlikely to return to pre-pandemic revenue levels in the near future. This slower rebound in the VIP segment can be attributable to recent years\u2019 regulatory tightening in China\u2019s treatment of gaming tourism and the broader economic challenges facing China,\u201d<\/strong> concluded Fitch.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Recent data indicate that in the fourth quarter, MGM China and Wynn Macau — which operate a combined four venues there — gained market share, while leaders Galaxy Entertainment and Sands China ceded modest amounts of share.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Macau casino operators should benefit from rising gross gaming revenue (GGR) as tourism to the gaming enclave from mainland China increases. But the process of reducing debt could take a while. That’s according to Fitch Ratings, which said more credit upgrades for the concessionaires aren\u2019t likely over the near term. Earlier this month, the ratings […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":289576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69069,10],"tags":[81913,81903],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMacau Casino Operators Debt Reduction Could Take Some Time<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Macau Concessionaires\u2019 Debt Reduction Slow Process, Says Fitch.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Macau Casino Operators Debt Reduction Could Take Some Time\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Macau Concessionaires\u2019 Debt Reduction Slow Process, Says Fitch.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-22T15:32:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-22T16:50:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/wynn-macau.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"562\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@etfgodfather\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Todd Shriber\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/\",\"name\":\"Macau Casino Operators Debt Reduction Could Take Some Time\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/wynn-macau.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-22T15:32:48+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-22T16:50:47+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\"},\"description\":\"Macau Concessionaires\u2019 Debt Reduction Slow Process, Says Fitch.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/wynn-macau.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/wynn-macau.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":562,\"caption\":\"The Wynn Macau casino hotel. An analyst lowered price targets on Sands and Wynn. (Image: Bloomberg)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Asia Pacific Gaming\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/asia-pacific-gaming\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Macau Concessionaires\u2019 Debt Reduction Slow Process, Says Fitch\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Casino.org\",\"description\":\"Latest Casino and Gaming News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85\",\"name\":\"Todd Shriber\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png\",\"caption\":\"Todd Shriber\"},\"description\":\"Todd Shriber is a senior news reporter covering gaming financials, casino business, stocks, and mergers and acquisitions for Casino.org. Todd got his start in financial markets as a reporter with Bloomberg News. Later, he became a trader at a Southern California-based long\/short hedge fund, where he specialized in the trading sector and international ETFs leading up to and during the financial crisis. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Currently, Todd analyzes, researches, and writes on ETFs for various web-based publications and financial services firms. Shriber has been featured and quoted in Barron's, CNBC.com, and The Wall Street Journal. His work can also be found on Benzinga, ETF Daily News, ETF Trends, MarketWatch, Fox Business, and Nasdaq.com. He currently resides in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golf and taking his black lab to the dog park. He's also an avid sports fan and likes to wager on college football and the NBA. You can also find him at the three-card poker and roulette table, even though he knows better. Contact Todd at todd.shriber@casino.org.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/muckrack.com\/todd-shriber\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/toddshriber\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/etfgodfather\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/todd-shriber\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Macau Casino Operators Debt Reduction Could Take Some Time","description":"Macau Concessionaires\u2019 Debt Reduction Slow Process, Says Fitch.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Macau Casino Operators Debt Reduction Could Take Some Time","og_description":"Macau Concessionaires\u2019 Debt Reduction Slow Process, Says Fitch.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/","og_site_name":"Casino.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews","article_published_time":"2024-02-22T15:32:48+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-02-22T16:50:47+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":562,"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/wynn-macau.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Todd Shriber","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@etfgodfather","twitter_site":"@Casino_Org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Todd Shriber","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/","name":"Macau Casino Operators Debt Reduction Could Take Some Time","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/wynn-macau.jpg","datePublished":"2024-02-22T15:32:48+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-22T16:50:47+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85"},"description":"Macau Concessionaires\u2019 Debt Reduction Slow Process, Says Fitch.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/wynn-macau.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/wynn-macau.jpg","width":1000,"height":562,"caption":"The Wynn Macau casino hotel. An analyst lowered price targets on Sands and Wynn. (Image: Bloomberg)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/macau-casino-operators-debt-reduction-could-take-some-time\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Asia Pacific Gaming","item":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/asia-pacific-gaming\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Macau Concessionaires\u2019 Debt Reduction Slow Process, Says Fitch"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/","name":"Casino.org","description":"Latest Casino and Gaming News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f4cecf70a5032bc4e60eb73fc86d4a85","name":"Todd Shriber","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-11-96x96.png","caption":"Todd Shriber"},"description":"Todd Shriber is a senior news reporter covering gaming financials, casino business, stocks, and mergers and acquisitions for Casino.org. Todd got his start in financial markets as a reporter with Bloomberg News. Later, he became a trader at a Southern California-based long\/short hedge fund, where he specialized in the trading sector and international ETFs leading up to and during the financial crisis. He joined Casino.org in 2019. Currently, Todd analyzes, researches, and writes on ETFs for various web-based publications and financial services firms. Shriber has been featured and quoted in Barron's, CNBC.com, and The Wall Street Journal. His work can also be found on Benzinga, ETF Daily News, ETF Trends, MarketWatch, Fox Business, and Nasdaq.com. He currently resides in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golf and taking his black lab to the dog park. He's also an avid sports fan and likes to wager on college football and the NBA. You can also find him at the three-card poker and roulette table, even though he knows better. Contact Todd at todd.shriber@casino.org.","sameAs":["https:\/\/muckrack.com\/todd-shriber","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/toddshriber\/","https:\/\/x.com\/etfgodfather"],"url":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/author\/todd-shriber\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311607"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=311607"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311607\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":311634,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/311607\/revisions\/311634"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/289576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=311607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=311607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=311607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}