Grand Lisboa’s big news
The odds were good last month for at least one lucky player at the Grand Lisboa who hit HK$ 2.74 million on a Caribbean Poker game. The Grand Lisboa also recently announced the opening of “The Money Wheel” in the casino foyer. In other related news, a recent customer survey of the Grand Lisboa placed the casino at the top position out of Macau’s some 28 casinos. Respondents found the flagship SJM property to be efficient and reliable.

LVS claims top profits
The Las Vegas Sands Macao beat SJM last year in terms of net profit, according to reports. LVS said they reaped MOP 2.97 billion while SJM recorded MOP 2.51 billion. LVS net profit added up to 25.7 percent profit but SJM’s was only 7.1 percent. Sheldon Adelson’s Vegas based giant reported total receipts of MOP 11.55 billion, 47.7 percent rise. MOP 8 = US$1.

Teem spirit
Former timber trader turned gambling junket company Teem Foundation said they hope top bring US$ 2.4 billion in revenue to the Venetian Macao this summer.  Last year, Teem paid HK$1.3 billion in two different deals to control the Sands and Wynn casinos.

Sands Tragedy
Macau authorities are continuing to investigate the suspicious circumstances surrounding a Hebei man who fell to his death inside the Sands casino. According to the Public Security Police, the 51-year old man was not alone when he plummeted three stories and crashed onto the lobby floor. Macau media has reported that he seems to have been running from loan sharks when he lept. This is the second time someone has jumped to their death at the Sands – in December 2004 a man who’d lost MOP 3 million committed suicide by hurling himself off a third floor ledge.

Q1 revenues hit HK$17 billion
Macau’s first quarter casino revenues shattered records at HK$ 17.87 billion, according to reports. The spike is attributed to the opening of new resorts and the doubling of gaming tables. The figures represent a 9 percent rise from Q4 2006 -which itself set a record HK$ 16.43 billion. Profits from VIP baccarat rose 50 percent to HK$ 11.65 billion compared with earnings from Q1 2006. Table games hit HK$ 5.49 billion for a 32 percent rise and slots revenues grew by 72 percent to HK$732 million. HK$7.78 = US$1

Red Galaxy
Galaxy Entertainment has announced that they’re in the red with HK$ 1.5 billion in losses. Depreciation of its gaming license, pre-opening caisno costs and higer expenses were all cited as reasons for the hemmoraging. Still, Galaxy expresses its resolve that profits get back in the black. Chairman Lui Che-woo said, “We are confident that our return on investment for StarWorld will exceeed our expectations”. CFO Nigel Morrision added that he anticipates the firm will see double digit returns on investment this year. Morrison also adds that their HK$6 billiion in reserves and StarWorld cash flows will help finance the first phase of their Cotai resort, which opens later next year.

PBL US$250 million Vegas stake
James Packer’s PBL has announced a 19.6 stake buy of Fontainbleau Resorts LLC in Las Vegas. Fontainebleau is in the process of developing a 24.5 acre property on the northern section of the Las Vegas Strip, scheduled to open in late 2009. Once open, it will feature a casino, luxury hotel rooms, suites, condominium-hotel units, restaurants, nightclubs, a spa and meeting and convention facilities. Fontainebleau is also undertaking a 16-acre luxury suite Miami project which will open in 2008. This is PBL’s first fortay into the US casino market and part of the company’s ongoing global expansion.

Ponte 16 “tops off”
SJM’s new Ponte 16 resort and casino development at Macau’s old western waterfront recently held their topping off ceremony. The resort is slated to open later this year and will include the Sofitel Macau. The rear of the building faces Zhuhai’s Wan Chai and will function as the western gateway to the mainland. Ponte 16 will also add to the areas civic life using appropriate lighting dZ(cor, organising a 2-month summer carnival, and launching four TVB episodes to showcase the harbour revitalisation.

May Day melee
Gun-shots and clashes with riot police marked this year’s May Day in Macau. What began as a peaceful rally at Iao Hon Square with several hundred workers calling for crackdowns on alleged corruption by employers who use illegal labour quickly gained momentum as the crowd reached over a thousand. At one point they protested outside a memorial service for Edmund Ho’s  brother. They chanted for Edmund Ho to resign. Minutes later they clashed with police at an intersection over a marching route debate – the workers wanted to follow the route they submitted to the government, but the police wanted them to follow another route.

As protestors approached, police thumped their shields with batons. Four German shepherds were brought out to intimidate the crowd. Then one officer fired, “five live rounds into the air. I was there. I saw it. I am disappointed and angry that the police handled it in this manner…And I will be raising this matter at the next legislative session”, says Jose Maria Pereira Coutinho, a deputy with the legislative assembly. Coutinho also bargained in the streets with police for the release of a few demonstrators who were arrested and stuffed roughly into vans.
From street-corners, Macau residents applauded as marchers dismantled police blockades and seized the streets. Police later ushered the demonstrators into two sections, and blocked them into a bottle-neck. Despite requests by police for them to disburse to different routes, the demonstrators refused. Many staged sit-ins. Police also used pepper spray, and protestors threw eggs and water bottles.
Most of the marchers were workers in their 40s and 50s.

75 illegal workers arrested
Over 75 llegal workers were nabbed by police in Macau during the first quarter of 2007. Statistics from the Public Security Bureau show that 212 sting operations were conducted at 255 sites. Police checked the identities of over 5,292 people. This year’s arrests mark a year-on-year drop of 11 percent, according to government figures. Part of the problem, say authorites, is the hiring of illegal workers to fill the market’s acute labour crisis.

Merrill Lynch’s US$ 350 million investment
Merrilly Lynch recently received the aid of Irish businessman D’hnall Slattery’s company Claret Capital in their US$ 350 stake purchase of the Macau Legend Development. In February, entrepreneur and legislator David Chow sold a 45 percent stake in his Macau Legend Development that earned him HK$ 3.02 billion.  The Irish Times reported that Claret Capital, a private equity company, made a “meaningful” contribution to Lynch’s Macau investment, which includes the Macau Landmark and Macau Fisherman’s Wharf.

Residential property dips 8%
Asking prices for residential homes recently fell as much as eight percent following the announcement of the suspension of the investment immigration scheme. The price dip effected residential properties worth between HK$ 1 million and HK$ 1.3 million in value, or between five and eight percent. Some analysts view the drop-off as a leveling measure – home prices, after all, have surged from MOP 800,000 to  MOP1.2 over the past several years. Currently, there are about 4,000 investment immigration applications on file. Several thousands of bitter investors have already purchased prooperty but will not be able to apply for immigration.

Shun Tak’s billions
Shun Tak Holdings witnessed HK$ 328 million in profits last year based on the completion of Phase One at Nova City in Taipa. Co-developed with Hopewell Holdings, pre-sales of Phase Two are also doing handsomely and sales revenues are expected to be booked following completion later this year. Shun Tak also garnished HK$ 663 million or 82 percent  profits from their TurboJet ferry line last year. Overall, Shun Tak’s turnover increased 0.8 percent  to HK$2.51 billion.

Lai Sun sees 159% profit
Lai Sun Development has announced a 159 percent net profit of HK$600 million over the past six months. The spike is due in part to a 515 percent leap in profits from its several associate companies, such as interest eSun Holdings. Profit shares from eSun surge 1,928 percent after selling a 40 percent stake of its Macao Studio City project.

Sun Innovation to invest
Hong Kong property giant Sun Innovation Holdings has announced that they are  focusing on Macau’s entertainment related real-estate developments. Sun has hired consultants and believes that Macau’s advancing tourism and leisure sectors will give the company robust growth. Sun Chairman and CEO, Michel Matsuda, said that Macau’s new status as a world class luxury and resort destination means that the territory is ripe for long-term investment and will enhance share-holders profits.

Manchester United match
Football fans better ink their calendars now: Manchester United will be descending on Macau Stadium July 23 to play the Shenzhen Xiangxue Eifiti. The event is part of Manchester’s pre-season tour, which will include Asian stops in Tokyo and Seoul. The lionshare of the tickets have been snatched up by corporate sponsors, but a limited number of tickets will be sold for HK$ 300, $600 and $900. Rob James, the club’s Asia marketing manager, said that the team hoped to travel to Macau as treble winners. We’ll see how the wagers pan out on that.

Safe squid?
Consumer studies of dried squid snacks, a local and mainland tourist favourite, report that not all batches are dangerous to eat. Recently, Hong Kong’s Consumer Council tested 26 samples of dried meat and fish products from Macau and 39 from Hong Kong to measure levels of arsenic. Their study said that eating three 90 gram packets of dried squid each week could lead to skin lesions, liver damage and contribute to cancer. One variety of shreded squid was found to have high levels of  the preservative benzoic acid, which can lead to gastrointestinal problems. However, another study conducted by Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety reported that dried squid packets at 35.5 grams did not exceed the World Health Organisation’s limits.  Questioned by legislators about which study was right, both groups said their findings were dependent on how much a consumer ate and what their body weight was.

Cebu souvenirs
The Philippine’s Islands Souvenirs company is expanding its international scope in Macau, according to reports. Isands Souvenirs already has an existing base in Macau, China and Japan, but is looking to form a holding company to bolster its international assets. Based on Cebu in the south central part of the archipelago, the company is striving to be, “more strategic in our locations at the airports, hotels and souvenir shops”, comments Islands Souvenirs, Inc. President Jonathan Jay P. Aldeguer. He also says that, “Right now, with Okinawa and Macau, tourist arrivals in Macau is rising 80% every year. And last year they registered 18 million tourists. So that alone, we have our hands full already. We don’t want to spread ourselves to thinly, especially since our products are not universal. We have to develop products for Macau, we have to develop a new product line for Singapore also”.

Jewelry and watch sales rise
Macau’s Statistics and Census Service has reported that the Tourist Price Index (TPI) for the first quarter of 2007 was 126.68, up by 3.63 percent over the previous quarter. Watches, jewelry and other merchandise rose 5.78 percent. Indices for transport and communications rose 3.71 owing to high prices for air tickets. Restaurant and accommodation figures increased 3.66 percent and 2.90 percent during Chinese New Year. Overall, the TPI rose by 9.91 percent compared with the first quarter of 2006.

Honesty campaign launched
During May’s Golden Week, the government is launching a campaign to combat those who might swindle mainland tourists. Branded as an “Honesty Campaign”, it seeks to distance Macau from scams that have dogged Hong Kong in recent weeks. The president of Macau’s Travel Industry Council, Andy Wu Keng-kuong,  said the city’s tourism growth had slowed considerably following scandals in Hong Kong last month. In April, growth dropped 10 percent in Macau because many mainland travel packages to Macau are part of tours to Hong Kong.

Vietnam dining promotion
In response to a recent warming of trade commitments between Macau and Vietnam, Macau’s Educational Restaurant at the Institute for Tourism Studies launched a Vietnamese food promotion. Two chefs  from Vietnam’s National Administration of Tourism were brought to the restaurant. Their menus combined the strength of Vietnamese and French influenced dishes. The restaurant serves as the main state centre for training staff for Macau’s tourism, gaming and hospitality sectors.

Amazing Malaysia
Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau Wah and Malaysia’s Minister of Tourism, Mr Adnan Tengku Mansor, met to develop and strengthen mutual tourism ties. They agreed to exchange delegations to enhance tourism management and promotions. They also committed to establish better business contacts for tourism fairs and exhibitions and undertake a study of joint tourism programs for advertising, health tourism, home-stay programmes, tour packages and MICE.

Macau Country (World Investment and Business Guide Library)

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