Macao’s casinos should host more residency shows, Sam Hou Fai said at a town hall meeting on Saturday – describing them as an opportunity to boost the city’s appeal to international tourists. He was speaking before a local audience whose attendance had been determined by random draw.
According to a media report, the presumptive Chief Executive – and sole candidate running in the SAR’s upcoming election – noted that a UK pop star, understood to be Adele, recently rejected a residency offer worth around US$200 million from one of Macao’s six concessionaires.
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“While she turned down the offer to take care of her family and children, could we not continue to promote something like this to make it a long term operation?” he said, arguing that such residencies could be an effective drawcard for the city.
Sam reportedly added that his administration would “take a serious look” at the casino operators’ non-gaming investments, which are required by law as a way to diversify Macao’s economy away from gaming.
Meanwhile, the former judge urged Macao to improve its economic strategy. “In the past five years since the Greater Bay Area [was launched], we have not felt our advantages,” he said, according to the report. “Our competitiveness needs to be improved.”
He highlighted Shenzhen’s technological prowess, Guangzhou’s “comprehensive capabilities” and Hong Kong’s status as a global financial hub as examples of Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities fully leaning into their areas of strength.
“Our unique advantages have not yet been fully utilised, so in the future, we will have to make up for our shortcomings in these aspects in a targeted manner,” he said.
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Sam stressed that Macao was not making use of its long Portuguese connection, and added that too little had been done to integrate Macao within the GBA in terms of standardising professional regulations and mutually recognising professional qualifications across the GBA’s various jurisdictions.
The 62-year-old Sam is expected to win the election for Chief Executive on 13 October. He would then take over from the incumbent, Ho Iat Seng, on 20 December.
