MACAU BUSINESS MOP100 billion non-gaming pledges
evaluating criteria. “Every party [bidder] was aware of the gameplay, and they all accepted it,” he said. “The committee has also undertaken multiple rounds of negotiations with the bidders for them to perfect their bid.” Mr Cheong did not elaborate on why GMM Limited, Genting Malaysia’s Macau unit, failed to replace any incumbent, instead stating that “GMM Limited is a firm that has only recently been incorporated in Macau... and does not have any experience in the Macau gaming industry. But its representatives have actively participated in the bidding process.” It was not the first time for Lim Kok Thay, the chairman of Genting Malaysia, to lose in the public tender for a gaming concession in Macau — a company linked to Mr Lim was also defeated in the bidding process in 2002, when the Macau government decided to liberalise the casino gaming market.
Employment guarantees The four legislators affiliated with the city’s influential Macau
Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) have urged the government to specify the terms and conditions in the gaming concession contracts, in order to protect local employment. Lei Cheng I, Leong Sun Iok, Lam Lon Wai and Lei Chan U called on authorities to require the concessionaires to prioritise hiring locals for different job positions and ensuring upward mobility for local employees, as well as protecting workers’ rights, in accordance with the law as well as improving the employees’ provident fund scheme.
The Macau government has been discussing with the six incumbents the details of their new concessions, and it aims to finalise the new contracts before the end of this year so that the new concessions can begin in January 2023 as scheduled. “We expect there will be a smooth transition between the existing concessions and sub-concessions [that will expire by the end of this year] and the new concessions,” Mr Cheong said. Authorities are yet to disclose the investment amount pledged by each successful bidder in its proposal, as well as the details of their non-gaming projects, their exact plans to attract overseas travellers and the annual gaming commissions they have to settle with the government. However, it has been reported by public service broadcaster TDM that the concessionaires vowed to allocate a combined MOP100 billion (US$12.5 billion) investment in non- gaming projects over a span of 10 years, with Galaxy and Sands China contributing with more than MOP20 billion each while the others would take on a smaller share of around MOP15 billion (US$1.88 billion). These investments are expected to be allocated to various non-gaming projects, theme parks, museums, large scale shows, ice skating rinks and venues for music performances, among other facilities and products. There are also worries that the stringent COVID-19
related travel restrictions currently in place in the city might impact the plans of the six new gaming concessionaires to attract travellers from non-Greater China regions. Since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, Macau has only maintained largely quarantine-free travel arrangements with Mainland China. “We believe the repercussions of COVID-19 will only be
temporary… and the normal travel arrangements will be restored after the pandemic so that the concessionaires can carry out different plans and projects in accordance with their pledges,” Mr Cheong emphasized.
The lawmakers said they hope the concessionaires will be able to facilitate the city’s economic diversification, as well as increase the number of job openings and give employees room to grow, in order to benefit the sustainable development of the economy and fulfil the gaming companies’ social responsibilities. The four legislators said that the gaming industry is a pillar industry that contributes to the economy and people’s livelihoods as it employs a large share of local employees. They received a lot of inquiries from gaming workers during the tendering process, especially from “satellite casino” workers who are worried about their job security. Even though the government said it would make sure there was stable employment after the new concession contracts were given, they haven’t said how they’ll do that yet. This is making people worry about their jobs, the legislators underscored. In the third quarter of this year, the number of employees in the gaming industry was 66,400, down by 14,600 jobs as compared to the 81,000 figure from the same period last year. 28.6% of the current job seekers were previously engaged in the gaming industry.
22 JANUARY 2023
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