Sands China chief executive and chairman Grant Chum said Macao was diversifying its economy away from gaming to become a “city of sports and … a city of entertainment”, during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the city that ended on Friday.
In an interview for “Squawk Box Asia,” Chum cited an agreement announced in early December between Sands China and the North American National Basketball Association to play two NBA preseason games in China.
“We will bring the Chinese NBA games back to China, but this time to Macao,” Chum told CNBC’s Emily Tan. “We don’t just want to organize a one-off event. We believe that a multi-year partnership, where we will play these pre-season matches over several years, will really strengthen Macau’s position.”
The games are part of Sands China’s commitment to invest $4.5 billion in the city by 2032, of which “over 90% … will be non-gaming investments,” Chum said.
collectively, six organizers of games of chance Macau — a special administrative region of China — has pledged to invest nearly $15 billion to make its economy less dependent on gambling revenue. Gaming operator licenses renewed in 2022 — albeit for 10 years instead of 20 — after each pledged to invest heavily in non-gaming projects.
But for some, the transformation is not coming fast enough.
In a speech in Macau on Friday, Xi praised the special administrative region before laying out “three expectations” for the city, including a request to “keep up with the trends of the times” while demonstrating “greater courage in reform and innovation”, according to transcript provided by the State Council of China.
Xi also urged the city to take steps to attract more foreign talent, a sentiment echoed by Allan Zemannon-executive chairman Wynn Macao, Thursday at “Squawk Box Asia.”
Building the Macao brand
Chum said Sands China has already delivered one major project – the renovation of the 14,000-capacity Venice Arena, formerly known as the Cotai Arena, in November.
“We have invested more than US$200 million in the fundamental upgrade and renovation of the Venetian Arena,” he said. “This facility will be state-of-the-art, not only for exhibitions and conventions, but also for live music concerts, as well as for all major sporting events.”
The Venetian Arena will host NBA preseason games starting in 2025. The first two games, between the Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns, are scheduled for October, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said earlier this month.
Chum said the Games will boost Macau’s reputation as a destination for major global events.
“We expect this to build Macau’s market cap over time,” he told CNBC.
Chum said gaming revenue in Macau had recovered to about 80% of 2019 levels, while tourist arrivals — which he called “the single most important health indicator for the tourism economy” — reached pre-pandemic levels in August and October.
Friday marked the 25th anniversary of the return of Macao to China by the British in December 1999.
The NBA deal also marks the return of preseason games to China for the first time since 2019. In October of that year, China suddenly terminated the agreement to broadcast pre-season games in the country via a tweet from then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, yes expressed support for anti-Beijing protesters in Hong Kong.
