Fernando Chui Sai On, the CEO of Macau, announced that the government is about to start reviewing the local gambling sector at the beginning of spring.
Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Macau last week and recommended the regulation and the supervision over the local gambling sector to be improved as soon as possible.
The reason why the President visited Macau was the 15th anniversary of Macau’s return to China. Formerly, it was a Portuguese colony.
The Chinese President did not miss to criticize Macau gambling regulators for the unprecedented decrease in revenue and the complicated issues in general. Bearing that in mind, there is a high probability a team of newly selected officials to undertake the demanding casino review, which is planned to start in a few months.
A revamp was made mere weeks ago and as a result, the CEO made the decision all secretaries and several officials to be replaced.
Investors are now well aware of the fact that the President has recommended a diversification of the economy of Macau. In addition, Jinping said that the development of the local tourist sector should not be so dependent on the gambling revenues. His recommendations were taken into consideration by a great number of investors and market analysts who also added that more attention needs to be paid to the subtle changes that take place on the territory of Macau.
The President’s visit raised a few more questions but it seems like the most complicated one was related to the imbalances created in the local communities. According to the President, “some deep-rooted conflicts have started to emerge as Macau proceeds with its development”.
The unrest in Hong Kong as well as the demonstrations made the Chinese authorities criticize Macau and recommend analysis to take place and city’s current troubles to be figured out. Yet, it seems like the inward money flows are among officials’ top priorities.
Macau is overpopulated, which creates issues when it comes to providing the residents with housing and developing a business different from the gambling industry, in order the desired diversification to be achieved.
Almost a week ago, Macau casino stocks fell down on Hong Kong stock exchange due to the announcement that Chinese authorities will continue to prosecute illegal money transfers with Macau as a final destination. All suspicious transactions will be monitored and timely investigated by Economic Crimes Investigation Bureau of China’s Public Security Ministry.
A prominent investment analyst released a note on Friday and according to the information it contained, the anti-corruption campaign is not going to end anytime soon and every pessimistic revenue report creates new comments about the lack of high-roller players in Macau.
