Inside Asian Gaming

IAG APR 2020年4月 亞博匯 59 日本 PROS • Was first to declare official “Yokohama First” policy • Operations in Macau, Philippines, Cyprus and Australia (via Crown Resorts) • Has listings on Hong Kong and US stock markets CONS • May be seen as a Chinese company • Perception of business ties to Dr Stanley Ho needs to be explained • Crown Resorts currently involved in suitability inquiry in Australia If licenses were awarded purely for enthusiasm, Melco’s Chairman and CEO Lawrence Ho would already have it in the bag. Many of his speeches begin with something like, “This is my 500th trip to Japan, I first came here as a five-year-old, and I simply love Japan.” Ho is not being disingenuous – his adoration of the country is plain to see. He even installed Japanese style toilets in every guest room at Morpheus, the latest addition to Melco’s City of Dreams flagship IR in Macau. Now into his 40s, the fit and sprightly Ho still comes across as young and exuberant, but has matured greatly in recent years. He has taken Melco to new heights, firmly claimed the number 3 spot on the IAG Power 50 list since 2017, and consolidated his international credentials with expansions into the Philippines, Cyprus and Australia. He famously once said he would do “whatever it takes” to win a license in Japan, a statement he might now regret, as this was widely interpreted as Melco placing no limit on their potential capital investment. Ho has even vowed to headquarter Melco in Japan should it win a license. This following is meant in the most respectful of ways, but having the famous Dr Stanley Ho as a father is both a blessing and a curse, and the younger Ho will have to convince the powers that be in Japan there is no business connection, given decades old rumors which continue to circulate. This is unfair given that Dr Ho is 98 years old, widely known to be in poor health, and clearly has not had any influence over his son’s business for at least a decade, and possibly a good deal longer. One could never accuse Melco of not being prepared to take risks. They can dazzle an audience with their ideas or proposals, but they do sometimes find themselves being accused of favoring style over substance. To win in Japan, they will need both. 優 • 首個宣佈「橫濱優先」政策的企業 • 在澳門、菲律賓、塞浦路斯及澳洲(通過皇冠度假酒店集團) 有業務 • 在香港及美國證券市場上市 缺 • 可能會被當成一間中國公司 • 與何鴻燊博士之間缺乏的商業聯繫可能成為一樣需要解 釋的事情 • 皇冠度假酒店集團現正牽涉澳洲的適格調查 如果發牌是純粹基於熱情的話，那麼新濠的主席兼行政總裁 何猷龍可能早已把牌照袋袋平安。他在很多的公開演講都會用像 以下的句子來開頭：「這是我第500趟來到日本的旅程，我第一次 來的時候只有5歲，我就是熱愛日本。」何猷龍並非不真誠—他對 該國家的喜愛顯然而見。他甚至在新濠博亞於澳門的旗艦新濠天 地的最新設施摩珀斯的每間客房內安裝了日式廁所。 已然41歲、十分健壯的何猷龍，依然非常年青及精力旺盛，但 他在最近幾年已經成熟了很多，並把新濠帶到新的台階。從2017 年起就在「亞博匯50強」裏穩佔第三位，並通過擴展到菲律賓、塞 浦路斯和澳洲，令自己擁有讓人信服的國際經驗。他曾有一次說 自己會做「任何需要的事」去贏得一個日本賭牌，這句話廣為人 知，但現在的他可能後悔曾有這樣的豪言壯語，因為這可能會被 解讀為新濠在潛在的資本投資上並不會設限。何猷龍更曾表示， 如果能夠獲得賭牌的話，將會把新濠的總部搬到日本。 以下所說的事都是出於尊敬之言，但有著舉世知名的何鴻燊 博士為父親，為何猷龍而言既是一種祝福亦是一種詛咒，而年輕 的何猷龍亦由於一些已經口耳相傳了數十年的傳聞，將需要說服 日本的各路人馬他與父親之間並無商業關係。這實在並不公平， 因為何博士已經98歲，健康亦不太理想，並且顯然最少在過去十 年間甚至更長時間對其兒子的生意並沒有作出任何影響。 人們可能可以指控新濠並沒有為迎接危機作準備。他們可能 可以用概念及建議來讓人眼前一亮，但他們有些時候可能會被指 把風格放在實質之上。可是，要在日本勝出的話，他們就要兩者兼 備。