MACAU - THE head of Melco Crown Entertainment, Lawrence Ho, said on Tuesday he expected China to ease visa curbs on tourists to Macau in the next few months, a move that could boost ailing casino firms.
Mr Ho, son of gaming tycoon Stanley Ho, said that he expected the former Portuguese colony to see an improvement in its fortunes this year.
'I think the worst is over and there will be gradual improvement from the middle of the year,' Mr Ho told a media briefing, adding that any improvement depended on relaxed visa restrictions and an upturn in the global economy.
The visit by Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping to the city at the weekend was a good sign for casino operators, Ho said, despite Xi's silence on the issue.
'I won't be surprised that there will be measures and policy announced in due course,' Mr Ho told reporters, adding that he believed visa curbs would be loosened over the next few months.
'I think he would go back and discuss with others to find out what China can do to help Macau,' Mr Ho said.
Mr Xi had been widely expected to announced a relaxation in visa policies for mainland gamblers visiting Macau.
China last year repeatedly tightened visa restrictions, which resulted in a 10 percent drop in the city's gaming revenues for the third quarter, official statistics showed.
Instead, Mr Xi told Macau to diversify its economy.
Ho said Melco's much-awaited City of Dreams project would open in the second quarter of the year.
The US$2.1 billion (S$3.1 billion) mega-entertainment project on the city's Cotai Strip will recruit 7,000 employees in the next few weeks and the company intends to have 10,000 employees in the long term, Ho said.
He added that it was fortunate Melco, Ho's joint venture with Australian tycoon James Packer, had raised enough funds between 2006-2007 for the City of Dreams, before the onset of the financial crisis.
Melco's rival Las Vegas Sands has been forced to halt construction on one of its landmark projects in Macau because it has been unable to secure financing.
Mr Ho added he was interested in investing in casino entertainment projects in Taiwan, where a bill was passed Monday legalising casino operations on its offshore islands.
However, he stressed that any such move depended on political stability in Taiwan and that Macau would always be the company's base.
The City of Dreams is Melco's second project in the southern Chinese city, following the opening of the 583-million-dollar Crown Macau in May 2007, which features a 36-storey tower with 216 hotel rooms and 220 gaming tables. -- AFP
