The boss for prominent Asian junket operator, Suncity Group, has reportedly predicted that Macau could see an up to 20% decline year-on-year in fourth-quarter aggregated gross gaming revenues to around $7.79 billion.

According to a report from GGRAsia, Alvin Chau Cheok Wa (pictured) made the forecast via a story published earlier today by the Chinese-language Hong Kong Economic Journal newspaper and additionally forecast that the enclave’s casino industry could record as much as a 15% comparable drop for the preceding third-quarter.

Downward trend:

Chau’s prophesy comes after Macau chalked up a 0.46% year-on-year decrease in first-quarter aggregated gross gaming revenues to around $9.43 billion alongside a slightly steeper 0.48% second-quarter diminution to just over $9.08 billion. To make matters worse, July’s figure was 3.5% lower at $3.02 billion while the slightly over $3 billion recorded for August had represented a comparable deterioration of 8.6%.

High-roller reticence:

GGRAsia reported that Chau is Chief Executive for the privately-held junket firm while additionally serving as Chairman for Hong Kong-listed casino operator, Suncity Group Holdings Limited, which holds a significant stake in Vietnam’s under-construction Hoiana development. He also explained that Suncity had recently seen a decline in the frequency of VIP clients visiting its Macau venues along with an associated fall in the numbers of such players seeking credit.

Currency depreciation:

Chau noted that high-value players who had been granted credit were now taking longer to repay their debts due in large part to a recent depreciation of China’s yuan currency when compared with Hong Kong and United States dollars. He additionally purportedly cited the slowing Chinese economy and recently-reinforced rules on capital flight as factors behind his prediction of decelerated revenue figures.

Baccarat slump:

Quoting figures from Macau’s Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau regulator and GGRAsia reported that the city had experienced a 15.6% year-on-year decay in second-quarter aggregated gross gaming revenues from baccarat to approximately $4.28 billion. It furthermore detailed that the enclave’s casino industry had seen first-half VIP takings slip by 14.5% when compared with the same period in 2018 to about $8.89 billion while the overall six-month tally of approximately $18.51 billion had represented a contraction of about 0.5%.