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Kahon Chan

Macau’s business community is pinning its hopes on a nearby island three times its size to help diversify the city’s economy and move away from relying mainly on casinos.
The island of Hengqin, in neighbouring Zhuhai, packs the potential to help the city expand its meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) industry, experts have said.
Beijing has long set Macau the mission to “appropriately” diversify its economy and reduce the gambling industry’s overwhelming presence.
This was first spelled out in the 11th five-year plan released in 2005, a year after Sands, Macau’s first American-run casino, opened its doors.
Incoming chief executive Sam Hou-fai has made reducing Macau’s reliance on gambling a top priority. His inauguration on Friday will coincide with the 25th anniversary of the city’s return from Portuguese to Chinese administration.
Based on a blueprint prepared by outgoing leader Ho Iat-seng, Macau aims to grow four sectors: a “big health” industry; modern financial services; technology; and conventions, exhibitions, trade, culture and sports.
Osborn Lo Wang-chun, president of the Macau Federal Commercial Association of Convention and Exhibition Industry, said that while Hong Kong’s international connections were an advantage, Macau won customers with its integrated casino resorts that put hotels and venues under one roof.
“I once went to Thailand for a conference and traffic jams took me three hours from the hotel to the venue. In Hong Kong, it will take at least 40 minutes to get to the convention centre from the airport,” he said.


“In Macau, if you’re going from your room to the venue downstairs in an integrated resort, perhaps it will take six minutes.”
The MICE industry has been at the forefront of the city’s endeavours to generate new revenue apart from gambling, and in the first nine months of this year, it hosted 943 conventions, 40 exhibitions and 28 incentive events.
Although the total attendance of just over a million was almost a fifth lower than for the same period last year, the non-gambling income from these events increased by 5.4 per cent year on year to 4.48 billion patacas (US$560 million).
But Lo said that as the sluggish mainland Chinese economy squeezed the budgets of event organisers and Macau’s tourism recovery drove room rates higher, MICE organisers were turning to more affordable options within the city and increasingly, across the border.
“We have been advising some clients to spare a day and check out Hengqin after their conference in Macau. Hengqin is a new development zone still in its infancy, but it has great outdoor venues,” he said.
Hengqin is home to the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone established three years ago in Zhuhai and jointly run by Guangdong and Macau authorities to promote economic and social integration.
Amy So Siu-ian, director of the University of Macau’s Centre for Tourism and Integrated Resort Studies, said Macau’s small size could be both an advantage and a disadvantage.
“While it allows for a concentrated and accessible MICE environment, it also imposes limitations on scale,” she said.

Cooperation within the Greater Bay Area, particularly with Hengqin, was therefore crucial to help the city overcome its space constraints, she added.
Hengqin’s more than 100 sq km (24,710 acres) – over three times the size of Macau – could offer additional capacity for a greater variety of MICE events and visitors.
The island’s ambitions go beyond MICE and tourism. Last month, Airbus Helicopters opened its new China headquarters on the island.
On December 9, the University of Macau held the groundbreaking there for a campus expected to open in 2028 with four faculties.
Rui Pedro Cunha, president of the Macau European Chamber of Commerce, said Hengqin was “Macau’s greatest potential advantage” compared with bigger business hubs in the bay area.
He said it was a vast fresh space with lower costs and could become an international business hub.
Modern urban planning, favourable investment policies and fiscal compatibility with Macau could help the island reach its potential.
But Cunha expected Macau to find it hard to step away from its comfort zone as a gambling-led tourist destination.
“Developing industries from scratch is always a challenge and will take time, but first movers will have an advantage,” he said.

Currently, empty office buildings dominate the Zhuhai area, including Hengqin. The city’s grade-A office vacancy stood above 50 per cent in 2023, according to a report of property consultancy Savills, and a policy was rolled out in May to encourage the conversion of office buildings in Hengqin into hotel rooms.
Political scientist Sonny Lo Shiu-hing said the Macau government needed to provide more incentives for residents and businesses to move to Hengqin and build a critical mass for business opportunities.
“In the next five years, we may not be able to see the vigorous development of Hengqin, because its foundation still needs to be laid,” he said. “If it is laid well, it may take another 10 years or so to see the results.”


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Hengqin is home to the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone established three years ago in Zhuhai and jointly run by Guangdong and Macau authorities to promote economic and social integration. Photo: Eugene Lee

Incoming chief executive Sam Hou-fai has made reducing Macau’s reliance on gambling a top priority. Photo: Eugene Lee

A business leader has said Hengqin is “Macau’s greatest potential advantage” compared with bigger business hubs in the bay area. Photo: Xinhua

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Macau chief executive-elect Sam Hou-fai with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Photo: Xinhua

Macau’s GDP reached 379.5 billion patacas in 2023, with 38.8 per cent coming from its gaming sector. Photo: Eugene Lee

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The Huangmaohai Cross-sea Passage runs about 31km from Gaolan Port in Zhuhai to Doushan in Jiangmen. Photo: Getty Images

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Hong Kong

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Three times the size of tiny Macau, Hengqin island has potential to expand capacity for events, visitors


Three times the size of tiny Macau, Hengqin island has potential to expand capacity for events, visitors.


Greater Bay Area