Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, speaks to reporters.
The Secretary for Economy and Finance, Mr Leong Vai Tac, said he thought it is likely the report on the mid-term review of the city’s gaming industry would be disclosed to the public next week. The report – containing more than 200 pages in Chinese – was in a final stage of preparation, Mr Leong told reporters on Thursday (5 May). The mid-term review would outline what had been achieved by the city’s six gaming operators; their involvement in the community; the non-gaming offerings at the resorts they operate; and the way they had approached the welfare of employees, including what opportunities had been offered to employees regarding upward mobility or horizontal mobility within their chosen job or career. In other comments to the media, the Secretary stressed the Government would follow the principle of allowing a growth in the number of new-to-market gaming tables of no more than three percent annually, up to the beginning of the year 2023. This is the principle when assessing new applications for gaming tables, he explained. Other factors in assessing application for gaming tables included: whether the resorts of the six gaming operators had contributed to the development of Macao as a world centre of tourism and leisure; whether they had helped maintain a healthy development of the gaming industry; and whether they had helped to enhance Macao’s international competitiveness. In addition, Mr Leong also commented on the target – outlined in the proposal for the city’s Five-Year Development Plan covering the period 2016 to 2020 – of increasing income from non-gaming offerings in local resorts. The proposal for the Five-Year Development Plan suggested that by 2020 such non-gaming revenue ought to account – on average market-wide in Macao – for more than nine percent of casino resort revenue. That would be an increase from the average 6.6 percent in the year 2014. The suggested target for non-gaming revenue was a result of in-depth research, Mr Leong said. The Government was confident that it was an achievable goal, but noted its attainment would require concerted effort from different sectors.