The government of Special Administration Region (SAR) do not have specific plans to help the Las Vegas (LV) Sands, which operates the largest casino in Macao, to solve its financial troubles, the SAR's Chief Executive, Ho HauWah, confirmed here on Tuesday.
Las Vegas Sands, controlled by American billionaire Sheldon Adelson, said on Monday that it would halt its large casino projects in Macao's Cotai Strip due to the company's shortage of cash, according to reports by Bloomberg.
The gaming operator has built three casino resorts in Macao, including the city's biggest of its king "Venetian Macao", and earns two-thirds of its revenue from the SAR, the only place in China where gambling is legal.
The company has claimed that it needs the cash to avoid violating the terms of some U.S. loans and setting off a series of defaults that may force it into bankruptcy.
"We will not interfere in private enterprises," Ho said at a press conference after his policy address on Tuesday. However, he also pointed out that the suspension of these casino projects will bring unemployment pressures upon some of the construction workers.
The labor department of the SAR government has discuss the issue with the management of the Las Vegas Sands, and demanding that they guarantee the jobs of the locals, according to Ho.
The SAR government expected that the average monthly casino revenue for next year will stand at seven billion patacas (875 million U.S. dollars). The figure is lower than the eight billion patacas (1 billion dollars) recorded in this year.
Regarding the operations of the whole of the gaming industry, Ho said that the growth of gaming revenues will slow down next year, but the six licensed gaming operators in Macao, including Las Vegas Sands, will maintain a certain level of income.
"There is no need to be too pessimistic," Ho said, adding that once the gaming operators go bankrupt, the SAR government will take over the concerned casinos and help them continue operations. But he ruled out the possibilities of lowering the direct gaming taxes levied on the casinos' revenues to help the operators to fare through the economic downturn, saying "it is a matter of principle."
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