"How to win a Macau casino concession" (by David Green)
More than two years ago, when I was advocating for an extended delay in the re-tender of Macau’s gaming concessions, I wrote the following: While it remains unknown what the SAR government’s expectations are for the outcomes of the second tender process, as recently as April last the Secretary for Economy and Finance was implying that the government would expect more from the second round than it achieved from the 2002 process: “Gaming liberalization in 2003 (sic) and the re-tendering in 2022 are two different discussions at different levels,” he said. “In 2003, Macau did not have enough conditions to make a choice, today we have more spaces and conditions to decide the direction of the gaming industry.” The recent opening of the tender and subsequent release of the tender requirements has confirmed that the government’s expectations of bidders likely far outweigh those bidders’ appetite for, and capacity to meet them. In 2001/2002, the expectations of the government were largely con...