Inside Asian Gaming

IAG FEB 2023年2月 亞博匯 88 The textile manufacturing industry was one of the backbones of the local economy in the 1980s and early 1990s. However, the textile sector contracted sharply in the new millennium with the end of the global quota system for textile trading in 2005. Internally, the late-1990s organized crime associated with the VIP room business acted as the “last straw” leading to the opening up of the gaming industry in 2001. More than two decades after gaming liberalization, Macau has transformed its economy and now ranks among the world’s major gaming jurisdictions. DIVERSIFICATION: A POLICY PERSPECTIVE The bidding for new casino gaming concessions has recently concluded, with the incumbents remaining in the house. Gaming has, once again, served as an integral tool for spearheading the restructuring of the city’s economy. Unlike the 2001 gaming liberalization which aimed to drive tourism development and local employment, the new gaming concessions seek to create conditions for adequate economic diversification and ultimately to achieve sustainable development in Macau. Being awarded new 10- year gaming concessions inevitably comes with a price tag. Among other things, the Big Six will be actively expanding their foreign tourist markets alongside the advancement of non-gaming projects. A total of MOP$108.7 billion (US$13.5 billion) is to be earmarked for non-gaming development over the next decade. The pledged investment will translate into a wide variety of leisure offerings, eventually accelerating the overall economic diversification process. The gaming industry has been theprimarydriving force for the overall economy in Macau. Gaming accounted for more than 63% of the city’s economic activities in the heyday of 2013, and the figure was 51% right before COVID plagued the town in 2019. With more non-gaming investment driven by casino operators, it is expected that the local industrial structure will gradually change. The Macau government has indicated that the gaming industry shall account for around 40% of total gross domestic product (GDP) in the future. COLUMNISTS