Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming November 2016 12 Cover Story So you will see at MGS exactly what a pioneering, innovative and creative business sees – an opportunity to trade through the casino and gaming marketplace. If you want gaming you go to the gaming zone where you will find the best the industry has to offer; if you want technology, we have a dedicated area for that; if you want art or culture, there’s the culture zone; lifestyle, food and wine – whatever makes business work in our industry should be there. And going back to your question, this diversification is a response, not just to the Government’s push, but the market direction. I think the industry has long recognized that it needs more in its reserves than just gaming. To bring people in and keep them coming back requires a broader offering and that’s a vision that not just MGS has developed, but so too most of the businesses within the MGEMA, the broader Macau and Chinese community and around the Asia Pacific region. It’s good, sound business sense. BB: The new zones aside, how has the recent downturn and the push towards diversification affected the way you have approached putting MGS together over the past two years? Has it affected MGS significantly? JC: It’s a fair question that deserves a straight answer. Of course it has. This is the real world – businesses have got to balance their books and so costs will always be uppermost in their mind. But as I have said before, MGS is quite unique on the global exhibition stage. It’s probably the most cost- effective trade event in the world to exhibit at, both in terms of stand pricing and the benefits on offer through IPIM grants and initiatives such as the Qualified Buyers Programme. Its profits go back into developing the event and not as profit to shareholders in another country. It has been working with the Government to raise the funds to make exhibiting in Macau easier and financially viable. And most importantly, it has bought into the vision of diversification because it works for our core industry, our local community and the global marketplace. Diversification means globalization – not in the sense that we currently understand it, but in a way that we are redefining through our economic proposals and projects. The diversification of the Macau economy means more construction; more infrastructure; more investment; more trading opportunities, in more industries, for more visitors and more companies from all over the world. The Government has invested in the MGS Entertainment Show to convey this message and to bring people into this message. We are open for business. Just look around Macau today – it is not a city that is shying away from investment. It’s not a city that is running away from development and expansion. MGS has been delivering this message for some time now – the global market is listening ever more intently to it and I think our three year vision will excite and entice the marketplace. BB: More generally Mr Chun, given your broad experience right across the gaming industry – both as a supplier and an operator among other things – how do you believe Macau is positioned at the moment? JC: I’m very excited at the opportunities. I don’t say that as a salesman’s pitch – I genuinely believe that Macau is in an excellent position going forward. But I also accept that we have a very hard job in hand. We are in tough times – a few short months of growth is not a recovery. Yet it’s a huge relief and great reward for the endeavors of so many hard working people in our community. I think we deserved this latest rise in figures – a lot of effort has been put into making the economy turn around. And we still have a great deal to do. We have to try and look at things through a broader lens. There are markets all over the world that are experiencing rapid growth and decline in equal measures, but Macau is quite special. It is acknowledged as the gaming capital of the world – we know that. Our next step is to make it the entertainment capital of the world. That in itself is a big task and many, many years in the making, but there is a sense of determination within the industry to deliver on this promise of development and evolution of the economic model. Macau is growing up in an international sense. It’s entering the next stage of its progression – and that’s as a global tourism and culture destination. The casino sector will likely be the fiscal force behind this, which is why we have to be so committed to the concept of innovation and creativity. But through this financial resource, and with the right vision, we can end up with a city that will stand alongside the best on the destination map. That is where I believe we are positioned – right at the gateway of commercial opportunity. But I also appreciate the tough conditions we have to endure and overcome. BB: As you noted previously, we have now finally seen year-on-year GGR growth after more than two years of consecutive decline. We have also seen Wynn Palace and Parisian open. Should these be seen as positives or is it too early to be jumping to any conclusions? JC: We have to see these as positives. We are a resilient and resourceful community, but also one with creative flair and skill. We clearly need to see more monthly figures in order to identify the trends and patterns. That said, analysts are more optimistic “The diversification of the Macau economy means more construction; more infrastructure; more investment; more trading opportunities, in more industries, for more visitors and more companies from all over the world.”