Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming september 2016 18 She’s been profiled in The Wall Street Journal , interviewed by Bloomberg , has graced the cover of Forbes Asia , is one of the world’s richest women, one of the 50 wealthiest individuals in Hong Kong and one of the most powerful people in the largest casino market on the planet. But her influence extends well beyond that to the larger commercial life of the Pearl River Delta and to government and community affairs. Angela Leong really is in a league of her own. A Guangzhou native, army officer’s daughter and the last of Dr Stanley Ho’s wives, Ms Leong emerged five years ago from a bruising family battle over the ailing tycoon’s fortune as the largest individual shareholder of Hong Kong-listed SJM Holdings – effectively, the heir to Mr Ho’s casino empire. She was already wealthy by then. And she’s a lot wealthier now. The real estate portfolio she’s amassed over the years, mostly in Hong Kong, Macau and close-in mainland China, was recently valued by Forbes at nearly US$3 billion. The magazine says she’s worth more now than when SJM’s stock price was peaking in 2014. It’s a measure of her stature that she has been thrice elected to the Macau Legislative Assembly, where she’s been a forthright voice for the industry and its employees. She is a member of the elite committee of 400 that elects the Macau chief executive. She also holds seats on the Jiangxi Provincial and Zhuhai Municipal committees of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Her position as head of a trade group representing junket promoters is but one acknowledgement of the value other people of power assign to her friendship. Her gaming holdings include a significant stake in SJM’s operating subsidiary, Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, where she serves as Managing Director, and she controls one of the largest personal stakes in STDM, the conglomerate that ran Stanley Ho’s casinos in the monopoly days and is still SJM’s largest investor. She is vice chair of the Macau Jockey Club. She owns gaming bricks and mortar, too: the 56-story L’Arc Macau, which houses one of 14 casinos that operate independently under the SJM umbrella; and the Jai Alai complex near the Macau Ferry Terminal adjoining SJM’s fairly sizable Casino Oceanus (200 table games, 440 slots). Jai Alai, with SJM as the lessee, is slated to open later this year after a lengthy reconstruction, providing the company with 130 sorely needed hotel rooms, a welcome complement of restaurants and shops and more mass-market tables. Count on Ms Leong’s impact to continue to be profound as SJM moves forward, especially as the company gets ready to make its mark on Cotai with the 2,000-room Grand Lisboa Palace, scheduled to open in late 2017 at a projected cost of US$3.8 billion. She owns land adjoining the under-construction resort which SJM wants to acquire. The 70,500 square meters allotted the Palace is the smallest granted to the six gaming concessionaires on Cotai. Ms Leong’s parcel measures 200,000 square meters. There was talk at one time of an amusement park at the site and she has said she’d still like to see something of a family nature there. SJM’s negotiations with her are reported to be ongoing. Angela Leong EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SJM Holdings MANAGING DIRECTOR AND CEO Sociedade de Jogos de Macau Power 2,795 last 13 Score year Claims to fame Holds largest individual stake in SJM Holdings A Macau lawmaker A major industry player through her wealth, business acumen and political influence 6 Asian Gaming POWER 50 2 0 1 6