UBS Group has released a report stating that despite the weak macroeconomic background in China, the bank still has a positive view on Macau casino stocks. Macau's gambling revenue in the first quarter was better than expected, and this advantage continued into the second quarter. The bank predicts that Macau's gambling revenue in May could reach 115%-120% of 2019 levels, higher than the 112% in the first quarter.

The bank believes that the recent addition of "personal travel" cities in mainland China can promote gambling revenue growth, and expects that with the increase in flights to Hong Kong and Macau (which have increased by 30% in the third quarter of this year), the gambling industry will further penetrate. The bank estimates that in the second half of the year, "personal travel" cities will account for 4.6% of the total flight capacity to Macau, higher than the 4% in the previous quarter.

Although the bank's EBITDA forecast for the Macau gambling industry this year remains unchanged (reaching 89% of the 2019 level), it has raised its mid-year gambling revenue forecast to 113% of the 2019 level, and maintained its VIP room revenue forecast at the 24% level in 2019. In addition, the bank has lowered its non-gambling revenue forecast for this year by 5%, reaching 114% of the 2019 level, and maintains its prediction of a 5% annual increament in gambling revenue for 2025 and 2026.