It appears that Macau’s Legislative Assembly is growing increasingly impatient to know the government’s plans for renewing or re-bidding the territory’s six casino concessions.
The licenses are due to expire in June 2022, and it’s been speculated that the government will move to reset that deadline in response to the Covid-19 crisis, which has devastated tourism and gaming revenues. Ministers, however, have said the deadline will not be extended and that their proposals for fresh concessions would be ready for review next year, although no date has been specified as yet. But this would seem to clash with recent statements from Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng, who has said no renewal discussions would take place while the government is focused on Macau’s recovery from the pandemic.
In the meantime, the current session of the Legislative Assembly is due to end next summer, and elections for the next session are expected shortly afterward. Any pending legislation will die when the session ends, and there are concerns among lawmakers that unless a renewal scheme is ready for their review well before then there could be a delay in getting new concessions approved.
Lawmaker Ella Lei, who heads the assembly’s Monitoring Commission for Land Issues and Public Concessions, said she wants a meeting with the government concerning its plans.
“We would like to hear the government’s views and what arrangements they intend,” she said.
“The gaming industry is the most vital source of our economy and relates to a large number of employees,” she added. “The influence and impact are great and wide. So we want to know the planning for the amendment of gaming licenses.”
Ho is slated next month to present the assembly with the government’s policy guidelines for the 2021 financial year. It is not known if the concession issue will be part of the presentation, but it could come up during a follow-up question-and-answer session with lawmakers.
