Morgan Stanley: Macau hotel room rates increased by nearly 30% year-on-year during the Lunar New Year, expecting a 13% year-on-year increase in gaming revenue in February.

Morgan Stanley released a research report stating that during the first five days of the Golden Week last year, the average daily gambling revenue in Macau was about 1.1 billion Macau dollars. Due to the similar occupancy rate during this year's Lunar New Year holiday period and an average daily room rate (ADR) that is about 25% higher, it is expected that the gambling revenue during this year's Lunar New Year holiday will be similar to last year's Golden Week, or even stronger. The data from the bank shows that the average daily room rate during this year's Lunar New Year holiday is 25% higher than last year's Golden Week, and 29% higher than the same period last year; The occupancy rate (number of days when rooms are fully booked) is similar to last year's Golden Week, but has decreased by about 7 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Based on the higher occupancy rate, the bank expects the post-holiday demand to continue for a longer period this year, supporting its expectation of a 13% year-on-year growth in total gambling revenue in February. At the same time, the bank expects the industry's EBITDA in the first quarter of this year to increase by 16% year-on-year, prompting an upward revision of profit forecasts in the market.