The Macau government gazetted today an executive order on the setting-up of a committee overseeing the upcoming public tender for up to six gaming concessions.
Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng's executive order on the establishment of the 9-member committee takes effect tomorrow. The order dated July 26 was published in today's Official Gazette (BO).
The committee includes three of the Macau Special Administrative Region's (MSAR) five policy secretaries: Secretary for Administration and Justice Andre Cheong Weng Chon; Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong; and Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U.
The committee also includes five bureau directors: Economic and Technological Development Bureau (DSEDT) Director Tai Kin Ip; Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Director Maria Helena de Senna Fernandes; Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau (DICJ) Director Adriano Marques Ho; Judiciary Police (PJ) Director Sit Chong Meng; and Land and Urban Construction Bureau (DSSCU) Director Lai Weng Leong.
Despite its English name, MGTO is not an office but a bureau in the local government structure.
The committee's ninth member is the secretary-general of the Executive Council Secretariat, Hoi Lai Fong. The Executive Council is the local government's top advisory body.
Public broadcaster TDM-Radio Macau reported this afternoon that the government's public tender for the gaming concessions would be launched next month. The report did not cite any source.
Currently, Macau has three gaming concessions (SJM, Wynn and Galaxy) and three sub-concessions (MGM, Sands and Melco). The six operators have said they are planning to bid for new concessions.
Macau's recently amended gaming industry law limits the number of gaming concessions to no more than six. The law's amended version bans the granting of sub-concessions.
The future concessions will have a validity of 10 years, half of the duration of the current concessions and sub-concessions. The concessions and sub-concessions expired on June 26. They have meanwhile been extended to the end of the year.
The gaming concessions give the government much more leeway than conventional business licences. Macau first gaming concession was granted in 1849.
As of the end of June, according to DICJ data, Macau had 37 casinos owned by the six rival operators - 20 by SJM, five by Sands, four each by Galaxy and Melco, and two each by Wynn and MGM.
As of the end of June, the gaming sector had 6,006 gaming tables and 12,042 slot machines, according to the gaming inspectorate.
At the end of last year, the gaming sector had 54,839 full-time employees, accounting for 14.5 percent of Macau’s workforce at that time, according to the Statistics and Census Bureau (DSEC).
This photo taken on Tuesday shows four of Macau's 37 casinos: Grand Lisboa, Lisboa, Wynn and MGM. – Photo: Maria Cheang Ut Meng
