The Macau SAR Government has granted the right to operate the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal to Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau, S.A. (STDM) for a period of 60 months as part of a deal that will see STDM pay 18% of its pre-tax profit from the terminal back to the government in return.
Under the previous deal, which ran for 66 months or five-and-a-half years from November 2018, STDM was required to make a monthly payment of MOP$1,800,800 (US$224,000) to the government in four quarterly instalments.
The government announced in February that it would put the operation of the terminal out for open tender but revealed in late May that the Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Raimundo Arrais, had already signed a notarized contract with the STDM to continue.
On Wednesday morning, the details of the contract were published in the Official Gazette confirming the grant is for a period of 60 months. The contract allows STDM to set the operating hours of the Outer Harbour Ferry Terminal and to allocate the right to use the terminal’s waiting rooms and berths, among other facilities.
The conditions of return of the grant are considerably different from those of the previous contracts, making the amount of return more flexible. STDM is now required to submit the financial information of the business on or before 31 March each year.
In addition, the contract stipulates that the government has the right to cancel the contract if STDM’s cumulative share transfers during the grant period exceed 50% of its total number of shares.
STDM, the majority shareholder in Macau concessionaire SJM Resorts S.A., is 53% controlled by an alliance led by MGM China Chairperson and Executive Director Pansy Ho and including Henry Fok’s Fok Foundation.
