Inside Asian Gaming

DECEMBER 2018 INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 13 Dr Rui Cunha says no space for seventh Macau concessionaire Long-time STDM lawyer and founder of the Rui Cunha Foundation, Dr Rui Cunha has poured cold water on the prospect of introducing a seventh Macau concessionaire. Speaking to Inside Asian Gaming , Dr Cunha said, “I don’t think there’s much space for many more operators … a proliferation of gaming concessionaires wouldn’t be very healthy for Macau.” Lawrence Ho’s Black Spade issues first bonds denominated in Macau currency Black Spade Capital Limited, a company founded by Melco Resorts Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho in 2017, which manages his personal wealth, has announced the first issuance of bonds denominated in Macau’s local currency, patacas. The bonds are valued at MOP$2 billion with a maturity of two years and a coupon rate of 3.1%. “If you have MOP, what you do is deposit it in the bank… but we provide another solution to give investors higher yield,” said Dennis Tam, President and CEO of Black Spade Capital. Tam explained that the coupon rate of the bonds is particularly attractive for local investors when compared to regular deposit rates. Economists and investors have frequently indicated that Macau locals have very limited investment options due to the nature of the city’s economic and geostrategic situation. Tam said he now expects “there will be more followers using MOP” as a currency to issue financial instruments, having witnessed Black Spade Capital’s venture. At a launch press conference held at Melco’s Morpheus hotel tower at City of proceeds will be used for non-gaming investments within the Greater Bay Area including in Macau, Hong Kong and China’s Guangdong province. The bonds have local Tai Fung Bank as sole global coordinator and chief structuring advisor. Dreams, Black Spade Capital stated that the issuance of its bonds would promote the integration of Macau in the Greater Bay Area and enhance the liquidity of the currency. The company also highlighted that The veteran lawyer said he instead supports continuity of the current model of six concessionaires – SJM, Sands China, Galaxy, Wynn Macau, MGM China and Melco Resorts – but warned that regulators may need to consider relaxing the jurisdiction’s strict rules when the re-tendering process begins in the coming years due to increasing regional competition. The gaming licenses of SJM and MGM both expire in 2020 while the remaining four all expire in 2022. “Macau will have to be necessarily more calculating, because adopting very rigorous measures and the application of too heavy taxes when competing locations may experience more favorable situations can drive Macau to a decline in visitors and bettors,” he said.