Inside Asian Gaming

November 2014 inside asian gaming 21 EVOLVING MACAU World’s Leading Countries and Dependencies Ranked by 2013 GDP Per Capita (Nominal Terms) Rank Country US$ 1 Monaco 163,026 2 Liechtenstein 134,617 3 Luxembourg 111,162 4 Norway 100,819 5 Qatar 93,352 6 Macau 91,376 MONACO: PARLAYING PRESTIGE The principality of Monaco, a sovereign city-state on the French Riviera, takes pole position on the 2013 GDP per capita list, with $163,026, and in some ways, offers a model for Macau to emulate. Like Macau, Monaco first achieved international notoriety by opening a casino. It’s reputed that the Casino de Monte- Carlo, founded in 1863, was devised as a means to raise cash to save the venerable ruling House of Grimaldi from bankruptcy. It did much more than that, providing Monaco a kick-start to successfully follow through on a diligent economic diversification effort. Now, finance, commerce and tourism are the main pillars of its economy. Foreign companies drawn to Monaco by its low tax regime account for around 75% of the principality’s GDP. Tourism brings in another 15%. Small-scale, high-value-added, non-polluting industries such as cosmetics and biothermics also make a tangible contribution. The casinos, however, while continuing to serve as iconic tourist attractions, aren’t seeing much action these days. Gaming revenue across the five casinos operated by the government’s Monte Carlo SBM slid steadily following the 2008 financial crisis to US$223 million in fiscal year 2013. Cambodia’s NagaWorld does more than that, an indication that Europe’s high rollers just aren’t what they used to be. Even the Russian oligarchs, with their penchant for staging outrageous spectacles of conspicuous consumption, haven’t managed to reverse the decline. Fortunately, Monaco’s economy has diversified far beyond gaming, and it’s managed that with a population that stood at a mere 37,831 in 2013. In Macau, by contrast, even with a population of 607,500 as of 31st December, it’s often claimed that the city doesn’t have enough manpower to shift its economy away from the all- consuming casinos. Furthermore, if Macau’s land shortage is such an insurmountable obstacle to setting up new kinds of businesses, consider Monaco covers a mere 2 square kilometers compared to Macau’s 30 square kilometers. As a tourist draw, what the principality lacks in size it makes up for in romance and unrivalled elegance. Home of the famed Monaco Grand Prix, the best-known Formula 1 race in the world, the city has lost none of its cachet since the event debuted back in 1929—“an exceptional location of glamour and prestige,” as it is hailed by the Foreign companies drawn to Monaco by its low tax regime account for around 75% of the principality’s GDP. Tourism brings in another 15%. Small-scale, high- value-added industries such as cosmetics and biothermics also make a tangible contribution.