The Chief Executive, Mr Ho Iat Seng, meets the press at Macau International Airport, upon returning from a four-day duty visit in Beijing.
On returning from a four-day duty visit to Beijing, the Chief Executive, Mr Ho Iat Seng, said the state leaders had acknowledged the anti-epidemic work done by Macao over the past two years, and had voiced support for the city’s adequate economic diversification.
Mr Ho spoke to the media on Friday (24 December) at Macau International Airport, immediately after returning from the capital.
In his report respectively to President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang, about Macao’s current situation in relation to its political, social, and economic development, Mr Ho said the local economy had been battered due to the decrease in tourist numbers to Macao amid the COVID-19 alert.
The state leaders made clear the problem of overreliance on a single industry, saying the Central Government would as always give its strongest support for Macao to diversify its economy in an adequate manner.
During meetings in Beijing, the state leaders had approved the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) Government’s policy plan for 2022. The state leaders had additionally sent new year’s greetings to the Macao public.
While in Beijing, the Chief Executive also met with officials of Central Government departments with input into development of the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, in order to press ahead with work on various topics.
In other comments, Mr Ho mentioned the MSAR Government still expected casino gross gaming revenue for 2022 would be around 130 billion patacas. The gross revenue for 2021 would have been close to that figure, had the city not experienced COVID-19 outbreaks respectively in August, September and October. The outlook for 2022 was still unclear in terms of epidemic-related developments: should there be any local cases, the year’s gross gaming revenue might not meet the MSAR Government’s expectation, he said.
The Chief Executive also talked about development of the city’s licensed gaming promoters, also commonly known as VIP junkets. The Government had no role in relation to the cooperation between gaming concessionaires or sub-concessionaires, and gaming promoters. The gaming promoters were not a mandatory element of either the concession or sub-concession contracts.
Over the past five years, the gaming promoter sector had seen its business shrinking, noted Mr Ho. Thus the Government had not evaluated the impact of the suspension of operations of gaming promoters. The Labour Affairs Bureau would continue to assist those workers affected by any cessation of VIP junket operations, helping them with employment or further vocational training.
Regarding quarantine-free travel between Macao and Hong Kong, Mr Ho said any such arrangement would require approval from the Central Government. Were there to be a finalisation of arrangements for quarantine-free travel between the mainland and Hong Kong, then Macao would be able to adopt similar arrangements. The MSAR Government would announce any news on the topic in a timely manner.
In addition, Mr Ho mentioned a report recently issued by the Commission of Audit regarding the management of Macao Investment and Development Ltd. The MSAR Government paid great attention to issues relating to public investment agencies. Since Mr Ho had taken office as Chief Executive, the MSAR Government had set up the Office for the Planning of the Supervision of the Public Assets of the Macao Special Administrative Region.
During 2021, the Government had either annulled several public entities and funds, or merged them with others, said Mr Ho. In future, a “centralised management by specialised departments” approach would be taken regarding public assets and funds, and relevant bills had been submitted to the Legislative Assembly for approval, Mr Ho added.
Regarding the Commission Against Corruption’s (CCAC’s) “Comprehensive Investigation Report on the Granting of Subsidy for School Development Plan by the Education Development Fund”, Mr Ho said certain findings from the CCAC’s investigation would be followed up by the Public Prosecutions Office, and the MSAR Government would assess the responsibility in terms of administrative procedures.
Mr Ho was also asked to comment on the topic of a former leader of the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau allegedly having accepted bribes, and having engaged in money laundering. Mr Ho said the matter was now undergoing legal examination, and as Chief Executive he should not make any comment at this stage regarding the matter.