The Government of Macao reiterates the year-end goal to grant new gaming concessions

The Macao government has reiterated that its goal is for the results of the public tender for the new 10-year gaming concessions to be ready by the end of the year.

However, Administration and Justice Secretary Andre Cheong Weng Chon, who is also the head of the committee overseeing the bidding process, said the committee does not have a specific time frame for when it can finish reviewing the proposals and other procedures.

The public tender for the new 10-year concessions, which are expected to start in 2023, concluded last Wednesday as the city’s six current concessions are set to expire at the end of the year. A total of seven companies submitted their respective bids, including the six current operators and one company linked to Malaysia-based multinational gaming conglomerate Genting Group.

The public bidding committee held an opening ceremony for the proposals on Friday, in which senior executives from the seven bidders were present along with their legal advisers.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the ceremony, Mr. Cheong said the bid opening process could take all day and he hopes it will be known this afternoon if all the bids will be accepted.

Speaking of the next step in the process, the official said that the committee would analyze the accepted offers and start talks and consultations with the companies that have been accepted in the race.

Sands China confident of winning Macau gaming concession

“Currently we don’t have any schedule,” he said. “But our goal is that the entire process of opening the tender and granting [de las concesiones] be completed by the end of this year.

Although there are seven bidders in the race, he stressed that the government will only grant up to six concessions, as stipulated by the law of the game and local regulations.

The public tender for the new 10-year concessions, which are expected to start in 2023, concluded last Wednesday

The seven bidders in the running are: Wynn Resorts (Macau) SA, Venetian Macau SA, Melco Resorts (Macau) SA, MGM Grand Paradise SA, Galaxy Casino SA, SJM Resorts SA and GMM SA

The first six are the local units of the incumbent operators. GMM SA, also known as GMM Ltd, is an indirect subsidiary of the listed company and part of the Genting Group, the company confirmed.

Article republished under an agreement with Macau Business to share content. Link to original article:https://www.macaubusiness.com/sands-china-confident-in-securing-concession-wilfred-wong/