Could some Vegas operators be edged out?
Government officials in Macau may be looking for a local gaming concessionaire to step into the market when the current licenses expire in 2020 and 2022.
The present concessionaires “expect easy renewals,” according to a report released last week by Steve Vickers Associates. “But the visibility of U.S. companies such as Las Vegas Sands and Wynn Resorts and a nationalist feeling in China could tempt the government to endorse a local competitor.”
Steve Vickers told GGRAsia that China “has historically sought to learn from foreign investors, develop local capacity and then advance local interests. Moreover, the government of President Xi Jinping is taking a nationalist stance towards a range of industrial issues.”
In 2002, Macau welcomed the Las Vegas operators who opened up the market, Vickers said. “But now many local companies have their own capacity. As such, it is possible that Beijing or Macau would choose to advance a Chinese champion in the gaming sector.”
That could include Malaysian casino giant Genting, the parent company of Asian casino operators Genting Malaysia Bhd., Genting Singapore and Genting Hong Kong.
“It is possible that an ‘Asian’ gaming entity such as Genting would prove more palatable to the PR than a Western/U.S. based firm,” Vickers said. “While the list of possible replacement concessionaires is still unclear, what is clear is that the PR government has a practice of supporting and promoting domestic champions over foreign (read: Western) interest.”
