Macau’s ambitious plan to turn itself into a Greater Bay Area entertainment, finance hub runs into Covid-19 difficulties

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While analysts and industry observers agree on Macau’s need to diversify its economy from gaming, they say the city has to find a financial niche for itself

The renewal of the casino licences for the six main operators is crucial to the development of Macau and take it to the next level, says Allan Zeman

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While analysts and industry observers agree on Macau’s need to diversify its economy from gaming, they say the city has to find a financial niche for itself. Illustration: Brian Wang

Sandy LiandEnoch Yiu

Published: 10:00am, 3 Oct 2020Updated: 12:13pm, 4 Oct 2020

Eight years ago, Cristiano Tavares came to Macau from Vila do Conde, a small town in northern Portugal, to boost his career prospects. The move paid off.

He started as a cook in the Michelin-starred Antonio Restaurant, and then quickly rose through the ranks to become head chef in just three years. “The opportunities are definitely better in Macau as many hotels, casinos and resorts have opened here,” said the 31-year-old.

Last year, he was the given the task of opening Paulaner Brahaus, a franchised German restaurant in the former Portuguese colony. Tavares was on track to open in late January when the Covid-19 outbreak in China brought tourism to a standstill, disrupting plans and pushing back the opening of the 150-seat outlet by nearly a year to December.

Tavares’ predicament and those linked to the city’s tourism industry show that Macau’s reliance on gaming, tourism and affiliated services is hurting its economy as it accounted for 70 per cent of its revenues in the first eight months of this year.

Macau needs to move quickly to diversify its economy to provide new job opportunities and income sources for its growing population, especially in light of the havoc wrecked to its mainstay tourism industry by the coronavirus pandemic, say analysts and veteran businessmen.

Just before the Covid-19 pandemic derailed the city’s economy, Beijing announced a raft of policies in December last year aimed at diversifying Macau’s economy and forging closer integration with the Greater Bay Area by building its financial services industry, while maintaining its position as a leading gaming and tourism centre.