Macau’s CSR drive – with one eye on Beijing?

Macau’s operators have stepped up their corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts in recent years, in particular when it comes to China cultural cooperation, which may help their case when it comes to concession renewal. The government has not yet provided details on how it intends to handle the renewal process when the licenses expire in two years. Yet at the time of the interim review, the operators were judged on many aspects of their business including promotion of locals and sourcing from Macau’s small-to-medium sized businesses.  However, Klebanow Consulting’s Andrew Klebanow, who argues that operators have become more skilful at amplifying their CSR efforts via media platforms, insists that casinos “understand the importance of being good corporate citizens” regardless of the renewals process. “One could take a cynical view and see these contributions as a way to curry favour with the central government ahead of licensing renewal, but it is in the...