Inside Asian Gaming

July 2008 | INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 39 Pipeline of infrastructure projects City of Dreams (1Q09) and Galaxy Mega Resort (2Q09), are designed to become destination resorts to attract leisure visitors. We believe these projects will collectively expand the market. • Infrastructure improvement - While infrastructure could be a bottleneck, the government is committed to addressing it. The Lotus Bridge connecting Cotai to the neighbouring mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai opened in May 2007. The new border at the bridge has the capacity to deal with 26 million visitors, compared to the 13 million arrivals that came through the Peninsula border last year. The full pipeline of projects over the next three years highlight government efforts to keep infrastructure development in pace with the launch of new casino-hotels and tourist attractions.This is essential for the enclave to support further visitor growth. Looming supply By 2010, we project the number of gaming tables will be over 2x the current level. Las Vegas Sands Corp is the most aggressive in adding capacity, with a majority of the new tables in Cotai at Venetian Macau and the six partner sites. MPEL is also expanding fast, with over 1,000 tables at its new properties.The other license holders are adding roughly 400-800 tables each over the period. By end-2010, LVS should have around 37% of the gaming positions in Macau. We are less concerned about industry supply than market share competition. We view most of the new supply as high-quality products that will help expand the market rather than totally cannibalizing the existing properties. Macau gaming supply forecast by concessionaire Log onto www.asgam.com for the latest industry intelligence and a subscription to our digital edition — all absolutely free. A Sure Bet Market Outlook