Inside Asian Gaming

INSIDE ASIAN GAMING | December 2011 12 Cover Story we are doing our best to provide various in- house training courses to our team members to enhance their knowledge and skills, such as in languages, computer skills and other areas. The government also provides many free training programmes and enhancement courses to people employed in this industry. I believe through a variety of professional training programmes, it can gradually raise the level of Macau’s labour market. We have a relationship with all the training institutions in town and many of our staff members were found through these local initiatives and educational sources. We see ourselves as a competitive player and the people we are going to attract are those who believe Galaxy offers them a bright career opportunity. We are an organisation that provides opportunities to our staff to develop, learn and be involved in decision-making. Another challenge that we are all currently facing is that we are going through a transitional periodwhereMacau’s infrastructure is under development. The government is doing its best—for instance, it is expanding the border gate area to allow greater capacity and is proposing to extend the border gate’s opening hours. The Transport Bureau has also indicated that a new lane for tour buses will be added to ease road congestion near the border in the first half of next year. The LRT [light rail transit] is scheduled to be in service by 2015, and we are confident it will draw more traffic to Macau. These things can’t be done overnight. It will be a step-by-step process that takes time. When will Galaxy expand further in Macau? At this stage, we are focused on the continued business execution of StarWorld and the ramping up of Galaxy Macau. We are delighted by the successful opening and performance of Galaxy Macau to date. Galaxy Macau shuttle buses bringing guests to the property are nearly always full, the mass gaming floor is busy and vibrant, the specially-designed VIP rooms are proving to be popular, and demand for hotel rooms is very strong and we had full occupancy during the Golden Week. We believe this is just the beginning and are confident of achieving greater success as the operations ramp up. StarWorld has continued to perform strongly since the opening of Galaxy Macau; visitation to both properties continues to increase. With StarWorld’s VIP-centric business and the diversified business in Galaxy Macau, we are confident that the two properties will continue to complement each other. Planning approval has been granted for an additional GFA [gross floor area] of 15 million square feet of our Cotai land bank, including hotels and entertainment facilities, retail and exhibition. We will make the move in line with market demand. We will work on the exciting development plan, which we will disclose at an appropriate time. Do you see Galaxy Macau working in cooperation with the other Cotai properties, Venetian and City of Dreams, as much as you’d planned? What more can be done toward making the three properties a joint critical mass of attractions to draw more traffic to Macau, and Cotai in particular? We understand the importance of a critical mass and its appeal to our customers, and the cooperation with the other two gaming operators is actually already in place. One example is that we are operating shuttle buses connecting the three properties which we think will provide convenience, better service and more choice for visitors. We also believe this service can draw a wider variety of visitors to the Cotai district. Has the Okura hotel at Galaxy Macau succeeded in boosting Japanese visitor numbers? With the opening of Galaxy Macau, we were hoping to attract more visitors, especially from other parts of the Asian region. Okura is a legendary brand and it has a lot of appeal to Japanese customers, so certainly, there have been Japanese tourists visiting Macau because of this brand. Also, Okura Macau seems to be bringing in customers from elsewhere. We’ve seen growing visitation from other regions, including Indonesia, Singapore and Korea, since the opening of Galaxy Macau. What has been the single greatest challenge of operating in Macau? Running a big property such as Galaxy Macau, with over 8,000 employees, requires fine-tuning in the initial stage. We have opened the property successfully; the next step for us will be to review the business constantly, improve service delivery, and enhance productivity to drive operational efficiency. I am confident that we can achieve these objectives with our strong management team and quality staff. Regional appeal—a Superior Suite at Hotel Okura