First new casino opens since Beijing turned tables on Macau
Under pressure from Beijing, Galaxy's expansion is as much about tourism and leisure as gaming
The mammoth task of transforming Macau from a highly lucrative but lopsided casino economy into a diverse Las Vegas-style tourist hub got under way in earnest yesterday with the glitzy opening of the second phase of Galaxy Macau on the city's Cotai Strip.
The HK$43 billion extension - which includes three hotels, two casinos and other entertainment facilities - doubles the resort's presence on the strip and represents just under half of the company's planned HK$100 billion investment in Macau.
It is also the first major grand opening of a casino since gaming revenues began to nosedive last year amid intensified pressure from Beijing to diversify the economy, President Xi Jinping's crackdown on corruption and his calls for a gaming sector clean-up.
The wishes of the central government were clearly in the mind of Galaxy chairman Lui Che-woo at the champagne opening.
"Galaxy Entertainment Group is a patriotic company," he declared, adding that it was loyal "to the central government's vision and hope that the territory fulfils its goal of turning Macau into a global centre of tourism and leisure".
Lui's eldest son, group vice-chairman Francis Lui Yiu-tung, said the city's casino operators had been very focused on the gaming component of their businesses and it was time to change. He expected non-gaming revenue to show double-digit growth in the coming years, but stopped short of giving specific figures.
