Macau Gaming Operators Will Invest Over $14.8bn During The Next Decade

Summary

• Macau Gaming operators will invest a combined $14billion plus over the next decade
• They must submit their proposals by March 31 and get approval from the Macau government
• Massive investment expected to be made into non-gaming activities

As part of their gaming concession agreement with the Macau government, the city’s six concessionaires are due to submit their investment programs for 2023 this month, providing further details of the projects they intend to pursue throughout the year.

Such projects were initially outlined in their overall investment plan for the 2023-2032 period that they presented to the government ahead of the start of the new 10-year gaming concessions.

Execution Proposal to Provide Full Details of Annual Projects

Under their respective concession contracts, each concessionaire is required to submit an “annual execution proposal” detailing the proposed budget for the projects for the year, along with the execution timeline. In the past, the said execution proposal must be submitted within the three months prior to the start of the calendar year. For 2023, it was agreed that the deadline will be on March 31.

The execution proposal submitted by each concessionaire is subject to review by the Macau authorities. Officials will examine each proposal and will have the final say on whether to approve or reject it. If the entire plan or certain aspects of it isn’t approved by the government, the concessionaire in question must come up with a fresh proposal to divert the funds to other projects. The new proposal would also need to be approved by the Macau government.

Every March, the operators must also submit to authorities an update on the execution of the projects for the past year. They are also required to report on the progress of their concession-related spending every two months. Officials may request additional reports for specific projects.

Among the six casino concessionaires, the Sands group pledged the biggest investment for the 2023-2032 period worth MOP30.24 billion. The Galaxy group comes next with MOP28.35 billion, followed by the Wynn Group which promised to invest MOP17.73 billion. MGM, SJM and Melco are planning to invest MOP16.70 billion, MOP14.03 billion, and MOP11.82 billion respectively.

The Macau government will provide feedback on each of the operator’s execution proposals by May this year. Officials are authorized to suggest some changes to certain portions of the plan, including the investment amount and execution schedule.

Massive Investment in Non-Gaming Projects

Overall, Macau’s six casino concessionaires pledged to invest a total of MOP118.8 billion (US$14.8 billion) for the duration of their gaming contracts. A significant portion of that, MOP108.7 billion will go towards non-gaming projects. That amount is more than 10x the total gaming investment pledged by the operators (MOP10.1 billion).