China's Xi urges bigger international role for gambling hub Macau (updated)

Sands China

20/12/2024 01:33

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      Xi urges Macau to align with national development
strategies
    

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      Macau's economy heavily reliant on casino industry
    

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      New leader Sam Hou Fai to push for economic
diversification
    

  
 (Updates dateline to Macau, adds bullet points, details in
paragraphs 2, 7, 10, 11 and 12)
    By Nicoco Chan and Tyrone Siu
       MACAU, Dec 20 (Reuters) - China's President Xi Jinping
said Macau should "keep up with the trend of the times" and play
a bigger role on the international stage, as he urged the
world's biggest gambling hub to never be complacent and show
"courage" to change and innovate.
    Xi's comments were made just ahead of the inauguration on
Friday of Macau's new government, helmed by former judge Sam Hou
Fai, the first city leader to be born and raised in mainland
China. 
    Xi called for Macau to "scientifically" plan its future
development and "more actively connect with national development
strategies" including the country's Greater Bay Area, which
includes the neighbouring financial hubs of Hong Kong and
Guangdong province, according to comments posted by the Xinhua
official news agency on Friday. 
        He had been speaking at a gala dinner on Thursday at the
Macau Dome, located alongside the city's Las Vegas-style Cotai
strip. 
    Xi also called for Macau to be more open and inclusive to
"recruit talents from all over the world" and "show greater
achievements on the international stage."    
    Xi arrived in the former Portuguese enclave on Wednesday for
a three-day visit to mark a quarter century of Beijing's rule.
He has been visiting different areas of the city including its
universities and special economic zones.
    The trip to Macau is Xi's third as president. He last
visited in 2019 when anti-government protests were rocking the
former British colony of Hong Kong.        
    Beijing has consistently praised Macau for its loyalty and
stability, with more than half of its 700,000 population
immigrating from China in recent decades.  
    A special administrative region of China, Macau is the only
place in the country where gambling is legal, and its economy is
heavily dependent on the casino industry, which contributes
about 80% of regional tax revenue.    
    Located on China's southern coast, Macau returned to Chinese
rule on Dec. 20, 1999, governed under the same "one country, two
systems" formula as nearby Hong Kong.
    Xi urged Macau not to be complacent and "be brave to change
and innovate" and make better use of "the one country, two
systems" framework.    
    Sam, who was born in China's southern Guangdong province and
speaks fluent Portuguese, has said he will demand "immediate
action" on diversification away from the casino industry.
    Sam, 62, has been head of Macau's highest court since 1999.
He was the only candidate given permission by a panel of 400
pro-China loyalists to run in Macau's election.     
         Since Xi took office in 2013, he has called for the 
"appropriate diversification and sustainable development" of
Macau's economy. The moves, and a sweeping anti-corruption
drive, have throttled gambling revenues from the high roller VIP
sector. 

 (Reporting by Farah Master and the Beijing newsroom; Editing by
Lincoln Feast.)
 ((farah.master@thomsonreuters.com; +852 3462 7709;))