CLAIMS TO FAME
- The most prominent of Dr Stanley Ho’s 17 children
- Has interests in two Macau concessionaires plus multiple other real estate and hospitality holdings
Arguably the most successful of Macau’s concessionaires post-COVID – certainly in growth terms – MGM China has gone from strength to strength over the past 18 months.
The company was a major beneficiary of the government’s 2022 re-tender process, winning itself an additional 198 gaming tables when new concessions were handed out in a move that immediately gave MGM a platform from which to significantly boost its market share, up from around 9.5% in 2019 to more than 16% through most of 2024.
Its rivals have been both critics and followers. Some were quick to call out the company’s so-called aggressive promotional activity amid fears it was unnecessarily boosting costs and lowering margins. But those critics have also followed MGM’s lead by investing heavily in smart table technology after seeing the incredibly impressive results MGM China has achieved since adopting smart tables across the board back in 2018.
Whatever the case, there is plenty for Chairperson and Executive Director Pansy Ho to smile about, with MGM China printing an all-time record in Adjusted Property EBITDAR in Q1 of US$301 million, followed by another record US$312 million in Q2.
Such an impressive rebound from the pandemic years saw the company announce in March that it would resume the payment of dividends, a decision Ho said “demonstrates our confidence in the future of Macau and MGM China, along with our commitment on bringing return on investment to shareholders.”
The company is also busy planning an expansion of one of its two Macau integrated resorts, MGM Cotai, set to incorporate a new “wellness-themed” building that will include the addition of hundreds more hotel rooms as well as spas and health treatment services.
And on the international front, parent company MGM Resorts International recently confirmed that any move to develop an IR in Thailand would be done through MGM China, potentially adding yet another string to the company’s bow.
Ho, meanwhile, continues to hold massive influence in Macau, not only by way of her 22.49% stake in MGM China but as the head of an alliance that has majority control of SJM’s controlling shareholder, Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau, S.A. (STDM). Her sister, Daisy Ho, is Chairman of SJM Holdings and Managing Director of its concession-holding subsidiary SJM Resorts S.A., giving her a direct line into the operations of a second Macau concessionaire.
Ho also oversees Shun Tak Holdings – the Hong Kong-listed property and transport firm of which she serves as Chairman, CEO and Director. Shun Tak is itself one of Macau’s biggest land owners with interests in a number of Macau gaming icons including Artyzen Hospitality Group, which owns Grand Lapa.
Further afield, Ho sits as chair of Estoril Sol, a listed company in Europe that operates two of Portugal’s biggest casinos – Casino Lisboa in the heart of Lisbon and Casino Estoril in Cascais – and was in late 2022 issued a new 15-year concession.
For the full list of 2024 Asian Gaming Power 50 winners, click here.
