Hong Kong

THE worst may be over for Asia's worst-performing property market. Macau's housing prices, which have plunged by a third since 2014, may get a boost amid signs that a two-year casino slump in the Chinese gambling mecca is near its end.

A private equity fund managed by Gaw Capital Partners sold almost 90 per cent of the units it offered on the first day at a development in early July, with evidence of buoyant demand from local buyers. Billionaire Sheldon Adelson, whose firm owns Macau's largest casino operator, expressed optimism on a recovery in the hard-hit betting industry, fuelled by recreational gamblers and tourists, joining analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co in predicting a turnaround.