The Macao SAR Government says the development of non-gaming elements and attracting more foreign customers will be the key points of a re-tendering for casino concessions launching this Friday 29 July.
As per order of the Chief Executive, Macau’s new round of public bidding for casino concessions begins this week and will run until 14 September. A Tender Committee tasked with awarding up to six new concessions will be chaired by the Secretary for Administration and Justice, Cheong Weng Chon.
At a press conference held Thursday afternoon, the government pointed out that the focus of the tender is to grant a maximum of six gambling licences for a 10-year period, with the participating companies focusing on non-gaming elements, social responsibility and developing foreign markets.
“The government will require the companies participating in the tender to give a detailed account of their investments and commitments in terms of non-gaming development plans and the development of overseas markets,” Cheong said.
“The source of visitors to Macau is too homogeneous, so we hope that in the new tender, the participating companies will focus their development and investment commitments on expanding the source of overseas visitors, opening up overseas markets and optimizing the source of visitors from next year.”
Will foreign visitation be welcomed on 1 January?
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Macau is currently closed to foreign tourists, and given the recent outbreak that has seen Macau endure a significant lockdown it seems unlikely foreign tourists will arrive anytime soon.
On the issue of foreign visitors, Cheong said, “The new gaming concessions will only commence operations on 1 January next year, and the government believes the outbreak will be short-lived, not permanent.
“The Macau gaming industry has been developed for 20 years and has considerable experience and scale. With the improvement of the overall economic environment and the changes in the outbreak environment, the government believes it will be able to achieve its expected goals in expanding overseas markets and attracting overseas visitors.”
48 days to complete the tender process
Does this mean the government will not consider opening up the SAR to foreigners until next year? On this issue, Cheong said, “The main reason for [the absence of] foreign visitor arrivals is the pandemic … if not for the new wave of the outbreak, the government intended to relax the restrictions on foreign arrivals.”
In reference to revisions contained within Macau’s recently amended Gaming Law indicating that tax relief will be provided if concessionaires can develop foreign clientele in the future, Cheong explained, “The Government will introduce supplementary legislation on relief in the future.”
The new round of public bidding for casino concessions from will last for 48 days from 29 July to 14 September 14 – considerably longer than the 33 days it took to receive tenders for the previous round in 2001. However, the government confirmed its intention to complete the process before the end of the year.
“The Government will not necessarily select six operators, but will take into account the qualifications of the bidders, their financial means, and whether they have met the requirements for investment in non-gaming and overseas markets,” said Cheong.
“There will be two stages in the bidding process, the first being the 48-day period for receiving bids and the second being the scrutiny of bids.”
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