SJM is “looking forward” to the continuation of its gaming concession, which expires next year, the gaming company’s Board Chairman Ambrose So Shu Fai said last week.
So made the remarks in a speech at the company’s traditional Chinese New Year’s Eve gala dinner, at the ballroom of Grand Lisboa last Monday.
Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On and other high-ranking government officials, community leaders and media representatives attended the dinner.
“We look forward to the continuation of our gaming concession, joining hands with the government and the people of Macau in creating a new chapter in the city’s growth story – in economic prosperity, social stability and community development,” So said.
Referring to the Year of the Pig, So pointed out that “in making its contribution to humanity, every part of the pig is useful,” adding: “May this guiding mascot bring Macau continued progress as a vibrant member of the Greater Bay Area [GBA] and the Belt and Road Initiative [BRI].”
So also said that the Year of the Pig would see the completion of SJM’s Grand Lisboa Palace in Cotai, “which will set a new standard of luxury and excitement within Macau’s role as a world centre of tourism and leisure.”
Also addressing the dinner, SJM Managing Director-cum-Chief Administrative Officer Angela Leong On Kei conveyed her husband’s “best wishes to you for a prosperous and happy new year”.
Leong, a directly-elected lawmaker, is Stanley Ho Hung Sun’s fourth wife.
Leong said that SJM was fully supporting the local government in developing Macau into a world centre of tourism and leisure, and in promoting economic diversification.
Leong also said that her company was in full support of the government’s policy of giving preference to local employees.
Tongue-in-cheek, Leong also gave her guests some advice on how live their lives in the Year of the Pig, such as urging them not to waste time casting pearls before swine and not to buy a pig in a poke.
Therefore, she said, locals should put jobs offered by SJM’s Grand Lisboa Palace resort on their “top priority list”. She also reminded locals that “honesty and sincerity are important in business and friendships, while being generous will make you happy, so don’t be calculative and stop grunting like a pig.”
During the dinner, a video clip of Ho’s remarks on the eve of the Year of the Pig 12 years ago was shown. Ho is known for his humorous speeches during his company’s annual Chinese New Year’s Eve dinners.
Stanley Ho is “okay”
Meanwhile, various members of the Ho family reassured the public that the 97-year-old patriarch was “okay”, in spite of his current hospitalisation in Hong Kong.
They made the remarks when talking to reporters outside the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital over the weekend in response to media reports that claimed that Ho had been admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) and was in critical condition due to multiple organ failure.
Ina Chan Un Chan, Ho’s third wife, told reporters outside Hong Kong’s top hospital that her husband’s health was “okay” and that he was “just resting”.
According to the Hong Kong media reports, Ho was admitted to the private hospital in Happy Valley last week.
