A GALAXY NOT TOO FAR AWAY

2014/12/12

From:Macau Business Daily

GEG’s Hengqin project breaks ground next year. Francis Lui, deputy chairman of Galaxy Entertainment Group confirmed it’s a goer. Galaxy Hengqin is set to be a Maldives-style leisure resort built in three phases.

The deputy chairman of Galaxy Entertainment Group, Francis Lui Yiu Tung, has confirmed that the Group’s project in Hengqin, which will be divided into three phases, will begin construction next year. The construction is expected to take from seven to eight years to complete.
Mr. Lui said in an interview with Chinese-language newspaper Macao Daily published yesterday that the Group’s project in Hengqin will feature Maldives-style leisure resorts to supplement the high-end, high-density entertainment projects in Macau that the Group is creating.
The deputy chairman perceives that Hengqin is one of the Mainland Chinese regions where Macau can seek development given the SAR’s lack of land, according to the newspaper.
“Hengqin is a place that Macau people should cherish as its future law, tax as well as culture will be similar as those in Macau. [Hengqin] will offer more opportunities for development, which young people in Macau should grab”, the newspaper reported regarding Mr. Lui’s perspective on the island. In addition, he reckons that the coming implementation of the 24-hour Hengqin border crossing is a good thing.
Following six consecutive months of declining gaming revenues, Mr. Lui says the Group’s phase II project will be unveiled during the first half of next year as scheduled, claiming it had not slowed its pace of investment despite gaming revenues dropping. In fact, he believes the situation regarding declining gaming revenues is only temporary. He does not think that it will lead to any important changes in the structure of the gaming industry.
Saying that the exact date of the opening of Phase II will be announced in January, Mr. Lui also revealed that the Group is to hire some 7,000 to 8,000 employees for the Phase II operation. Besides claiming the current remuneration of the Group is satisfactory following a recent hike, he is confident his company can successfully recruit the expected number of staff, as the Phase II project is the first of the [competitive] new projects to open.
In addition, Mr. Lui said that Galaxy has been following the target that the government, as well as central government, have set for Macau – transforming it into a World Tourism and Leisure Centre, claiming that as the gaming industry may have developed too fast [Galaxy] will expand the development of non-gaming elements in the future as well.
He also perceives that increased non-gaming elements make for a healthier development of the market, claiming the middle class in the city, whom he thinks will be the future main sources of the industry, are also demanding diversified development as they do not want to be limited to gaming elements.
On the other hand, Mr. Lui expressed his opinions about the newly designated government Secretaries. According to Macao Daily, he trusts that each of the new chiefs has independent ability. However, he hopes that they will listen more to opinions from different classes of society in order to be able to create a blueprint for the future development of Macau so that consensus can be created in society, including employers and employees in the city.

Copyright@Macau Business Daily