The Macau government would like to see a shift of emphasis on the concession-related non-gaming investment efforts of the city’s six casino operators, so the companies avoid “working on similar areas”. That is according to commentary from Wilfred Wong Ying Wai (pictured in a file photo), executive vice chairman of one of the operators, Sands China Ltd.
He was speaking on Wednesday, on the call to discuss the first-quarter earnings announcement of the parent, Las Vegas Sands Corp.
Mr Wong stated, referring to the current Macau government that took office in December : “I think the new administration now has had time to look at the overall picture of the non-gaming development.”
He added, referring to the industry as a whole: ‘As long as we maintain our total commitment they are looking to us to specialise in areas where we each do best because… they feel that maybe it’s better that, rather than six of us or working on similar areas.”
The city’s six casino operators initially pledged to commit collectively MOP108.7 billion (US$13.5 billion) to non-gaming investment as a condition of their 10-year gaming concessions, which began in January 2023.
Subsequently, that amount increased by 20 percent after Macau’s market-wide casino gross gaming revenue surpassed a predetermined threshold of MOP180 billion in full-year 2023.
“There will be opportunities for us to discuss with the government how we do best in some of the areas,” said Mr Wong on Wednesday’s call, in response to an analyst’s question on the Macau government’s policy view on non-gaming development.
Under its own enhanced non-gaming concession commitment, Sands China is to invest an additional MOP5.56 billion, taking its concession-related pledge on non-gaming to MOP33.36 billion. When a further concession pledge on gaming-business investment is factored, the company’s total investment pledge to the government for its current concession, is MOP35.8 billion.
Overall investment must be completed by concession-end, December, 2032, according to Sands China’s 2024 annual report, filed in March.
Sands China concession-focused work
Grant Chum, Sands China’s chief executive and president, also commented during the first-quarter call, on Sands China’s recent and anticipated non-gaming investments.
He stated: “We’ve already made a significant investment in upgrading the Venetian Arena at a cost of around US$200 million that was completed last year. That’s our single biggest project that we’ve completed for the concession commitment.”
Mr Chum also observed, referring latterly to National Basketball Association (NBA) events: “In terms of… developing sports and mega events with strong international IP [intellectual property], we’ll bring the NBA pre-season games this October,” part of a “multi-year partnership”.
Mr Chum is also executive vice president of the parent Las Vegas Sands’ Asia operations.
In a Wednesday plenary meeting of Macau’s Legislative Assembly, the city’s Secretary for Economy and Finance, Tai Kin Ip, told legislators his office would lead a cross-department task force for “monitoring the gaming concessionaires’ implementation of their investment commitments”.
The assembly meeting was a question-and-answer session on last week’s Policy Address for Fiscal Year 2025.
Mr Tai said the Macau government would direct the gaming concessionaires to “allocate more resources” to support what it terms “key industry” projects in Macau and in neighbouring Hengqin, and on projects that could help enhance Macau’s “overall competitiveness”.
In Hengqin, Macau is collaborating with the mainland authorities on developing new-technology business and other initiatives, as part of the city’s effort at economic diversification.
Secretary Tai did not give further detail on what sort of non-gaming economic projects the casino concessionaires might be asked to help.
Legislator Angela Leong On Kei, a co-chairman and an executive director at SJM Holdings Ltd, one of the Macau concessionaires, had asked Mr Tai about that.
