Inside Asian Gaming

inside asian gaming May 2016 16 element to foster “win-win” collaboration between the two sides. “The potential benefits are subject to related policies, especially if the mainland visitors who enter Hengqin could also be allowed to travel to Macau on a multiple basis and vice versa,” Professor Siu says, noting that some Macau legislators have requested that Beijing allow mainland visitors to Macau to make multiple return trips to Hengqin. Without immigration changes, prospects for Hengqin and Macau to converge into a single tourist destination are limited. “For mainland Chinese visitors to Hengqin, they will still need an exit visa to come over to Macau,” IGamiX Management and Consulting “The Chinese government doesn’t care about the gaming industry or the casino concessionaires in Macau. It doesn’t benefit from Macau per se,” an industry executive who asked not to be identified says. “China is using Hengqin to piggyback onto Macau.” Cover Story “The Park will leverage on China’s demand for world-class medical expertise, as well as Zhuhai’s close proximity to Macau and Hong Kong via the Hong Kong-Macau- Zhuhai Bridge … It’s the right place at the right time. Five years on, with the bridge, it will be a boom town.” Last August, AAMG bought a 60% stake in the project from Singapore private equity firm Rich Tree and is taking a lead role in design and management with its strategic partner, America’s University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. The Park’s first phase, a 12 story, SG$80 million (US$60 million) advanced diagnostics and aesthetics services facility, is located in Zhuhai’s Free Trade Zone, just over the bridge from Hengqin and adjacent to Hengqin’s Shizimen Central Business District. Zhuhai’s Free Trade Zone includes the Zhuhai International Convention and Exhibition Center that can welcome up to 10,000 guests. “The whole area is greatly promoted by local government. When we approached people in the FTZ and Zhuhai, they were very helpful,” Dr Tan, a world renowned liver surgeon, says. AAMG is looking at sites for a potential second phase that could include acute care medical facilities to follow up on findings from medical screenings. “Hengqin is very attractive for us,” noting that there’s no tax on medical equipment imports and that healthcare is among the industries designated for development on the island. Proximity to Macau is a key factor for AAMG, which hopes to convert a portion of the city’s 31 million annual tourists into medical tourists. The first phase targets visitors with a menu of checkups plus wellness and cosmetic treatments including surgery and dentistry. “With people on holiday with family, all this can be done in two days,” Dr Tan says, “We will try to work with the casinos for high rollers.” He dismissed the idea of building where the tourists already are because “there’s no free trade zone in Macau.” Portugal’s Malo Clinic in Venetian Macao tried to play the medical tourism card with limited success. After its local unit teetered near bankruptcy, Malo sold a majority stake to Taiwan’s Taivex Healthcare Management Services in 2013. The 120,000 square foot facility with medical, dental and spa services has been rebranded TaivexMalo Day Hospital but hasn’t yet put Macau on the medical tourismmap, though Taivex and Malo have extended their partnership to mainland China. Dr Tan says AAMG plans to highlight its US affiliation and bring in top practitioners from Singapore and South Korea. “Branding is very important in today’s medicine and clinical management,” he says. “It’s about delivering value for money.” Mathew Ossolinski (right), pictured with author Muhammad Cohen at the Hengqin Tennis Center