Macau Vs Singapore

On Tuesday, one day after Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong sanctioned the development of two casinos in the state-city, both of Macau's two leading gaming operators, despite claiming to be fearless to the challenge, unveiled their moves to further enlarge Macau's gaming development.

Casino mogul Stanley Ho and Hong Kong's wealthy Lui family coincidentally chose the same day to unveil, respectively, the leasing of a gaming sub-concession to the Las Vegas-based MGM Mirage and a billion-dollar deal paving the way for the Macau-based Galaxy Casino's Hong Kong listing.

"There is no such need to worry that Singapore would draw away Macau's Southeast Asian customers," said Stanley Ho, managing director of the Macau Gaming Co Ltd (SJM).

Soon after the inking on Tuesday of his first gaming sub-concession contract, allowing MGM Mirage to invest in casino projects in Macau, Ho said SJM is very sure of its competitiveness.

Ho mentioned that Macau's gaming business has co-existed with Malaysia's Genting Casino for dozens of years without battling for customer sources.

Meanwhile, K Wah Construction Materials Ltd, a family business belonging to Hong Kong tycoon Lui Che Woo, announced on Tuesday it would purchase a 97.9% stake in Galaxy Casino, which is run by Lui's son Francis Lui, becoming the first Hong Kong-listed casino operator and capitalizing on investor interest in Macau's gaming market boom.

Lui said that after Macau's gaming market liberalization, which took effect in 2004, investors have been rushing to pour money into building high-quality gaming facilities.

Macau is undergoing a transformation from a pure gambling city toward a recreational resort destination attractive to conference organizers, vacation goers and business travelers.

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