Inside Asian Gaming

MAR 2019 INSIDE ASIAN GAMING 19 “ I’m very passionate ... I look at myself as a perfectionist,” Galaxy Entertainment Group Vice Chairman Francis Lui admits. “Everything I do, I want it to be the best. This drives my passion, this drives my energy level, this drives, hopefully, my spirit such that our team members here would be able to resonate.” Lui, who runs Galaxy under his father, 89-year-old Chairman Lui Che Woo, sat with IAG Editor at Large Muhammad Cohen for a rare interview. Muhammad Cohen: How does further Pearl River Delta integration benefit Macau? Francis Lui: Guangdong has been the richest part of China for the last 20 to 30 years. With improvements in infrastructure and accessibility, they’ll find it easier to come to Macau and enjoy themselves. At the same time, Macau within “one country, two systems” is the only city where gaming is allowed. We felt that Macau will always have this advantage in being the world tourism and leisure center of this [region]. That has been coincided by the government that the position of Macau should be the world tourism and leisure hub. By understanding what the Central Government wants Macau to be, with improvements in infrastructure, I think we have the opportunity to make it happen sooner than later. MC:Isthereanypotentialdownsidetogreaterintegration? FL: There could be a few concerns, like more talent, more people, more capital wanting to come and do business in Macau. While we think that we have all the opportunities to be very successful, at the same time, I feel that our businessmen, our young people will have to be sure they know competition is coming. They will have to be equipping themselves with better knowledge, better determination, better passion, to be able to compete in an economy that will be more open. MC: For Galaxy to continue to grow, must it expand beyond Macau? FL: I feel Macau will always be the mecca of the integrated resort world. With “one country, two systems,” with Macau the only city allowed to have gaming and with 1.3 billion people in China and growing, we are in a very unique position to do well into the future. I have full confidence that Macau, in the long run, is going to do great. The challenge is on us as an operator to make it better and more in tune with what the government and the people want. We always say that from now on, it is not just a gaming hub, it’s got to be sold like a diversified integrated resort hub such that we don’t just rely on gaming. We have to rely on the other vital, diverse businesses, such as entertainment, F&B, shopping, retail, conventions to grow. I feel that all of us, including Galaxy, are doing our fair share, and you can see the achievements over the last 19 years to make Macau a very different place than it was before. With that commitment, I feel Macau will continue to be great. At the same time, other countries are also recognizing, with the success they saw in Macau, that they can use the gaming industry to lead their tourism industry. It started in Singapore, then other Southeast Asian countries using that same formula, with gaming driving more tourism. Now Japan is opening up. We felt Japan, being the third biggest economy in the world with 130 million sophisticated high-end customers, it’s almost like a no- brainer, the industry there is going to be very successful. At the same time we felt the Chinese customer is evolving into a much more sophisticated group of customers. I’m sure that with cross-fertilization where Japanese people want to come here; vice versa, I’m sure Chinese people are going to go there, too. If we want to maintain our presence in the region, we feel that we need to be reaching out beyond Macau so that we would be able to continue to play a role in regional development. Yes, surely we are committed to expanding outside of Macau but at the same time, Macau will always be our birthplace that will continue to grow and get better. MC: What’s Galaxy's thinking behind the partnership with SBM? FL: We think it is a win-win situation because SBM Monte Carlo wanted to re-invigorate their brand. Monte Carlo was the first integrated resort 150 years ago but somehow since then that glamor has been overtaken by Las Vegas, Macau and Singapore, so I think His Highness [Monaco’s Prince Albert II] felt it’s about