Macau lockdown begins, Hong Kong mulls health code app
Gulf Times
Macau casino shares plunged on Monday as the Chinese city embarked on a week-long lockdown to curb its worst coronavirus outbreak while neighbouring Hong Kong said it was mulling a mainland-style health code system.
Share prices of six gaming conglomerates -- Sands China, Galaxy Entertainment, SJM Holdings, Melco International, MGM China and Wynn Macau -- dropped by between six and nearly nine percent in Monday morning trade.
It is the first casino lockdown in more than two years, overriding a previous deal between the industry and the Macau government that only those found with infections would need to close temporarily.
Macau, the world's biggest gambling hub, is the only place in China where casinos are legal but the pandemic has hammered the city's fortunes as it sticks to Beijing's zero-Covid model.
