Good morning. Beijing has set a blueprint for the future diversification of Macau via a joint master plan for Hengqin – though how Macau’s gaming industry fits into these plans is yet to be known. Ben Lee of iGamiX Management and Consulting told AGB he expects Macau’s operators to be splashing a lot of capital on non-gaming.
What you need to know
- Sands China has provided a financial update for July and August, which shows the operator is on track to produce significantly lower-than-expected results for 3Q21.
- Outbound Chinese numbers expected to rise to 200 million by the end of the decade are likely to outstrip the available tourist infrastructure, Bernstein Research says.
- DICJ has sworn in 14 senior personnel as part of a bid to strengthen Macau’s regulatory oversight of its gambling industry.
- The Philippines has announced a last minute delay on its lockdown easing, to give more time for it to implement its new localised lockdown system.
- Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam has asked Beijing for a path to eventually shed travel restrictions between Hong Kong and Mainland China.
On the radar
- IFHA appoints HKJC head Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges as chairman.
- Suncity Chairman Alvin Chau sells stake in Sun International for about $9m.
- LRWC’s Total Gamezone Xtreme unit gets PAGCOR go-ahead for online gaming.
- Saipan governor wants a working group for an e-gaming license fee hike.
- IGT has launched a new Digital & Betting business segment.
What the papers say
- Delta‘s Nepal casino has resumed operations as of September 8.
- Macau’s new Zhuhai-Macau border checkpoint opened on Wednesday.
- Macau and its operators receive multiple PATA tourism awards.
AGB Intelligence
DEEP DIVE
Hengqin plan forces diversification and operators need to play their part
Beijing has set out its blueprint for the future diversification of Macau through a joint cooperation master plan on Hengqin, though at present it’s long on vision and short on detail as to how the goals will be achieved.
One of the key issues will be that Macau doesn’t appear to have any major competencies in the areas which are deemed as “appropriate” for development and its strict labor laws currently will make it highly problematic to import skilled talent. “One can only surmise that Macau’s key contribution will be capital, the one thing we do not lack.”
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