促进澳门博彩业的发展

This Saturday, December 20th, will mark the 15th anniversary of Macao's return to China. Since Macao's return in 1999, its economy has enjoyed strong growth, mainly thanks to its expanding tourism and gaming sectors. But a decline in casino revenue over the past six months has prompted many to examine what needs to be done to improve the industry's odds. Here is the second episode of our special coverage, "Celebrate Macao--15 Years On."

19.6 percent year-on-year decline, Macao's Gross Gaming Revenue numbers for November have offered little reason for optimism going into 2015. But Su Shuhui, executive director of one of Macao’s biggest casino companies, sees no reason for panic.

"I think we have a high base last year, so it's quite natural when Macao is trying to reorganize the gambling structure. Also, because of the slow economic growth in the world at large, so it's not quite surprising for us. Among the whole, the total gambling revenue is more or less like that of last year, maybe with a little single digits of negative growth for the whole year," Su says.

But Feng Jiachao, an associate professor at the University of Macau, says there are other challenges that must be tackled.

"The gaming industry in Macao has been in a re-organizational period since June, to re-evaluate its capital flow and gaming structure, due to some illegal economic behavior such as money laundering. The decline will continue as this re-evaluation goes on, but it’s healthy," Feng says.

This re-evaluation is also important for Macao's broader economy. As Feng points out, what's profitable for casinos can sometimes be costly for regular residents.

"Theoretically, gaming consumption has no upper limit. It is calculated as part of the local gross domestic product, even though it makes little economic contribution to other local sectors. But the legal commercial effects could make the situation worse. It has led to rising house prices and inflation, directly affecting local peoples' lives. So the reorganization and reevaluation processes become very important," Feng says.

Feng adds that diversification could be an option to counter the inevitable effects of a single-structured economy. But that will be a gradual process.

Despite the appeal of economic diversification, the gaming industry will continue to be the leading mainstay of Macao’s economy for quite a while. To promote a healthy and sustainable growth in the industry, the SAR government will follow the policy of moderate monitoring and control to lift up the quality and standard of the gaming projects development.