China has returned to set Macau on the path to shedding its reliance on casinos, as China’s top official for Macau affairs arrived at Macau on Monday for a fact-finding visit.
After a meeting with Macau’s leaders, messages from the central government to the gaming hub’s leader were shared via a press release.
Xia Baolong, the director of the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the State Council, calls for Macau officials to “do more” on pushing economic diversification, saying that this avenue is the only road to keep Macau’s prosperity.
Xia says that he hopes Macau can enhance its economic resilience and elevate its risk resistance.
Xia also praised the leadership of Macau’s chief executive and Macau society, indicating that Ho Iat Seng has worked hard to strengthen the regulation of the gaming industry, concretely: the revision of the gaming law, new gaming concessions (then new 10-year licenses), and “using the law to secure healthy development” of the gaming industry in Macau.
Macau recorded a historical high gross going revenue (GGR) in 2013 with MOP361 billion ($44.8 billion). The downtrend only changed in mid-2016.
Macau recorded MOP292 billion GGR in 2019, when Macau had a historical high of visitor arrivals – with 39.4 million visitors that year.
