Monthly Archives: February 2022

Efforts to promote the integration of science and technology innovation in Hong Kong and Macau into the national innovation system have made advances, an official with the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) said.

Dai Gang, director-general of the Department of International Cooperation of the ministry, made the remarks at a press conference in Beijing.

Dai said that the country supported the sci-tech development in Hong Kong and Macau by providing research funds, and supported Hong Kong and Macau in the construction of national research platforms.

By now, Hong Kong has built 16 national key laboratories, and Macau has built four, said Dai.

Besides, efforts have been made in helping young people in Hong Kong and Macau engage in innovation and entrepreneurship, Dai said.

China also boosted the interaction and integration of science, industry and finance in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.

The area is a sci-tech innovation center of China, said Minister of Science and Technology Wang Zhigang during the press conference, adding that science and technology are crucial for the high-quality development of the area.

In 2021, the research and development (R&D) spending of nine cities in the Pearl River Delta of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area is expected to exceed 360 billion yuan (about 57 billion U.S. dollars), according to Shao Xinyu, Vice Minister of Science and Technology.

The cities have forged 57,000 national high-tech enterprises. And 780,000 items of patents were granted last year, among which the number of invention patents is expected to exceed 100,000.

According to the Global Innovation Index released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the innovation cluster of Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou ranked second in the world for two consecutive years.

By gathering innovation resources, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area has built an international technology transfer hub to lead the development of emerging industries, Shao said.

China has laid out and constructed a series of major sci-tech infrastructures such as the spallation neutron source in this area, he said.

The country also promoted full access to national key R&D programs for Hong Kong and Macau, and further deepened cooperation in sci-tech innovation among Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau, Shao added.

Originally posted here:

Chinese mainland's sci-tech cooperation with Hong Kong and Macau makes advances - Macau Business

Before the pandemic, one third of Macaus inhabitants were non-residents. Most worked in the gaming and hospitality industries. After the pandemic, the same will be true.

Macau Business | February 2022 | Special Report | MigrantsinMacauTheotherside

2011 a press release from Sands China stated that because of restrictions on foreign labour resulting in a shortage of construction workers, its expansion project on Macaus Cotai strip would be opening later than scheduled.

2017 The CEO of MGM China said the company was facing a manpower shortage and would have to transfer a number of employees from its Peninsula property, MGM Macau, to its new Cotai resort.

These two examples, chosen at random from a great many possibilities, demonstrate two things: the heavy reliance of the gambling industry on non-resident workers (TNRs) and the persistence of the problem, which has basically dragged on since the 6 concessionaires began operating in full. Before 2002 the number of TNRs was on the decline, but from 2003 onwards, a drastic increase was seen in the number of such workers, up to 92,161 by the end of 2008 (or 28.5 per cent of the total employed population and 16.8 per cent of the total population).

If we go back to 2008, for instance, we realize that the hospitality sector employed some 51,073 foreign workers 28.2 per cent of its total workforce.

In 2009, even after the global financial crisis, there were still a total of 74,905 TNRs in Macau.

In 2011, as the economy quickly picked up, the number of non-local workers again increased drastically to 94,028 (or 28.7 per cent of the total employed population and 16.9 per cent of the total population).

The employment of migrant workers has become an intensely contentious issue, Professor Alex H. Choi says. The traditional pluralist approach to migration policy has highlighted a mismatch between restrictive policy pronouncements and actual expansive outcomes, he wrote in 2016.

Victor Zheng and Po-san Wan, authors of the book Gambling Dynamism(2014) agree: The main reason for their discontent was that the government and casino operators were importing outside workers (mainly from Hong Kong and Mainland China) to fill labour shortages, citing a lack of skilled local workers.

The University of Macaus Professor Choi believes, This mismatch has resonated strongly in Macau, where the number of migrant workers skyrocketed in the last decade in spite of repeated guarantees from the government that it would adopt a protectionist labour policy. The pluralist approach has attributed the mismatch to strong constituencies supporting more immigration.

Jaeyeon Choes team of researchers adds, While rigid labour regulations prohibit foreigners from working in many high-salaried positions, local labour is not enough to fill positions in Macaus hotel and hospitality sectors.

Authors Pan, Sheng and Hao in Political Economy of Macao since 1999state, The enormous investment in grandiose projects such as the Sands, Wynn, Venetian, Grand Lisboa and MGM has not only increased Macaus GDP but has also resulted in the recruitment of large numbers of overseas workers. As the economy has technically stayed at full employment, the number of non-resident workers has increased to meet the demand of the expanding services sector.

Despite public protest, gambling and tourism in Macau would not survive without TNRs more than 90 per cent of the labour force in the hotel and restaurant sectors and similar activities are TNRs.

The civil construction sector is an excellent example of this. As the Chief Executive said at the end of 2020, The pay is high, but the work is hard, so since residents dont want to go to that sector, we need the TNRs (non-resident workers). Residents prefer to stay in air-conditioned rooms.

The pay is high [in the civil construction sector], but the work is hard, so since residents dont want to go to that sector, we need the TNRs (non-resident workers). Residents prefer to stay in air-conditioned rooms Ho Iat Seng

#MeToo

With TNRs the main source of labour fuelling the hospitality industry in Macau, their working conditions and wellbeing must not be neglected, the authors of #MeToo too in Macao: Sexual Harassment of Migrant Workers(2019) insist.

Due to the nature of the service and hospitality industries and the personal circumstances of these migrant workers, they will inevitably be put at risk of encountering sexual harassment, Loureno and Gutirrez, both from the local Institute for Tourism Studies, reveal in their study.

They interviewed nine migrant workers from the hospitality industry, and the findings show serious risks and issues faced by these non-resident workers. As reflected in the study, organisations such as the multinational gaming operators and integrated resorts must do a lot more to protect these workers from becoming the silent victims of sexual harassment.

Previous | The challenges of being a dual migrant

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Special Report Gambling and hospitality need them - Macau Business

Ryan Hong-Wai Ho takes a closer look at the issue of Macaus satellite casinos and how amendments to the citys gaming law promise to change the landscape for satellite operators.

It has been more than 20 years since Law No. 16/2001 was enacted as a legal framework for the Macau gaming industry. With the gaming concessions (and sub-concessions) set to expire in June 2022, the Macau government has been beefing up its gaming regulation and enforcement over the past years, and the latest amendments to the citys gaming law are currently being considered by the Legislative Assembly. Among other changes, third-party promoted casinos will be outlawed under the new gaming law. This draft provision may also affect some self-managed casinos not wholly owned by the incumbent gaming operators.

Third-party promoted casinos, commonly known as satellite casinos, are gaming establishments technically administered by authorized operators but owned and managed by independent investors. Nevertheless, the proposed amendments provide that casino gaming must be operated in the properties owned by concessionaires (i.e. authorized gaming operators). The new gaming law will probably have a negative effect on the long-established satellite properties scattered around the city. While this type of casino partnership can trace its origins to the former casino monopolist in the 1990s, the number of satellite casinos has proliferated since the citys gaming industry was liberalized in 2001. A majority of the existing satellite properties emerged between 2004 and 2006. At present, Macau has a total of 18 satellite casinos operating in the name of three authorized gaming operators.

The Macau gaming industry has a de facto franchise system to operate satellite casinos. Some gaming operators have been partnering up with certain third parties in the development of these casinos. There is a strong rationale for establishing satellite casinos: gaming operators can expand their market reach without making any significant capital investments. Acting as the self-styled service providers, satellite casino owners are by no means passive investors; on the contrary, they assume the day-to-day management of the casinos with the entitlement to a share of the gaming profits. Take the mass market segment as a simple illustration gaming operators generally pay about 40% gaming taxes and keep 5% of the net win generated from the table games, and the remaining 55% will go to the service providers for the gaming service rendered in satellite casinos.

Local satellite casinos are fraught with informal industry practices. There is little argument that the Macau government and the public want a healthy and sustainable gaming industry. With most considering these third-party promoted casinos likely to remain unresolved after the expiry of the current concessions, the draft under consideration came as a surprise to the satellite community. In retrospect, this policy direction does make sense and seems almost inevitable, given the restructuring and expansion of the DICJ last summer and the ongoing regulatory actions on the junket operators. These measures demonstrate the commitment of the government to address this legacy issue head-on. The new gaming law is likely to dissolve the deep-seated casino partnership and mark a turning point for any third-party involvement in gaming operations.

The Macau government has proposed introducing a grace period of three years for the existing cohort of satellite casinos. Still, it behooves the authorities and the public to examine other related issues arising from the complexity of this casino partnership. Most of the outstanding questions are legal and technical in nature. Future casino properties must be owned by gaming operators. And yet, it is advised to explicate this draft provision as to whether the premises on which a casino is operated must be a wholly-owned (100%) or majority-owned (over 50%) subsidiary of the concessionaire, or whether it is possible to have a 50/50 joint ownership or equity investment (less than 50%) on those properties. The variation in ownership structure, together with the voting rights, can make all the difference to satellite casino owners chances of survival.

Another often-overlooked issue with satellite casinos is their potential resurgence. Subject to obtaining government approval, a management company can operate casinos on behalf of the concessionaires under Law No. 16/2001, and this provision is retained in the draft bill. However, the concept of a management company is not merely a gaming service provider but an authorized operator having the power to run casinos in its own right. It is fairly understandable that such a provision has never been invoked because this casino management arrangement can elevate an outside investor to the status of a gaming operator, thus shattering the citys system of gaming concessions. The forthcoming demise of the satellite casino system might motivate the industry stakeholders to seek alternative solutions like this to stay in business under the new gaming law. It is, however, very much in doubt whether the government or the concessionaires would be amenable to the idea of splitting the exclusive rights to operate casinos in Macau.

It has been a trend that satellite casinos have been marginalized by the integrated resorts owned and developed by most gaming operators. Though challenges abound, these small-scale casinos also possess a high degree of operational resilience and responsiveness. With the current COVID-19 pandemic, most casinos have been struggling with a lack of business in this challenging environment. According to industry sources, one satellite property bucked the trend and recorded decent profits in the second half of last year. This result hinges largely on their dedication to quality service alongside various play incentives. All these, taken together, lead to deeper engagement with the patrons. Integrated resorts may have an advantage in terms of their recreational options; when everything is taken into consideration, customer service still plays a pivotal role in attracting loyal customers and repeated patronage.

After the three-year transition period, those casinos owned by independent investors would be either closed or sold for a dime on the dollar. The six prospective concessionaires permitted to operate casinos in Macau would be on a bargain shopping spree. Like the board game Monopoly, a possible scenario for the six operators-designate would be to accumulate the satellite properties preferably in the vicinity of their other casinos, ultimately consolidating the property holdings to collect the economic rents. Satellite casino owners may also seek ways to inject their properties into the concessionaires and become minority shareholders, possibly acting as executives charged with supervising the concerned casino properties. On the other hand, a local satellite casino group has expressed its interest in bidding for one of the six forthcoming concessions, and more are anticipated from the satellite community. After all, Macaus proximity to mainland China makes its gaming concessions a golden lottery ticket for any operators to hit the mega jackpot, not to mention satellite casinos bid for survival and revival.

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Survival of the Fittest? - IAG - Inside Asian Gaming

Despite the governments moves and pledges in recent years, theres still a lot of room for improvement in expediting the digital development of Macau and transforming the territory into a smart city from better formulation of a blueprint, infrastructure updates, to cultivation of local talents and stakeholders.

Technology has been fully integrated in our daily life, particularly in the past two years in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. We can settle our transactions with e-wallets now, make online applications at different public entities, check the real-time location of buses across the territory via mobile app, etc. These all have been partially facilitated by the governments push to transform Macau into a smart city but observers believe much more should be done to fulfil this smart vision.

In the citys second five-year plan, covering the 2021-2025 period and published in December, the government aims to employ smart technologies (self-monitoring, analysis, and reporting technologies) in numerous areas to enhance its governance and service level, including government affairs, municipal affairs, healthcare, education, elderly care, culture, tourism and transportation. The authorities would also enhance the application of data, as well as the sharing and interconnection of data between the authorities and the community, in a bid to accelerate the digital development of Macau, the official document states, adding more public bodies would be encouraged to publicise their data that the community could explore the value.

And its not the first time the authorities have made such a pledge. The smart city ambition of Macau was first stated in the first five-year plan for the 2016-2020 period, resulting in the smart city partnership framework agreement between the Macau government and Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd in 2017. The pact was divided into two phases. The first stage, between 2017 and June 2019, addressed the construction of a local cloud computing data centre and helped the authorities to launch projects of big data services to accelerate the citys development in areas of tourism, transportation management, healthcare service, urban management and training of information technology (IT) professionals. The second phase, between July 2019 and June 2021, was supposed to continue optimising the IT infrastructure in the city and to launch projects in the fields of environmental protection, customs clearance procedure, and economic forecast.

Albeit, now that we observe the conclusion of the four-year partnership, both parties have so far provided little detail on the results of their collaboration. The authorities have only indicated the Covid-19 pandemic which started in early 2020 imposed challenges on the execution of the agreement, and some of the content in the pact had to be adjusted. Both sides were committed to gradually promoting smart city development here to the greatest extent possible, the administration said. According to local media reports, at least MOP440 million (US$55 million) were spent in this pact, with most of the capital expenditure focusing on the development of infrastructure.

With the help of Alibaba, the administration has completed the construction of a cloud computing data centre here, as well as ameliorated the common access to public services for the public with a single online user account. The Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has also initiated three projects, including Tourism information interchange platform, Application for visitor insights and Smart application for visitor flows leveraging the technologies offered by Alibaba.

Alfred Wong Seng Fat, president of the Smart City Alliance Association of Macau, says the authorities should publicise a detailed report that assesses the implementation of the pact in the past four years as soon as possible. The partnership did yield some outcomes but a lot more has to be done, the academic says.

The smart city development of Macau still lags behind other places in the region despite the recent improvements, says Alfred Wong, president of the Smart City Alliance Association of Macau

No coordination

The smart city development of Macau still lags behind other places in the region despite the recent improvements, he adds, as one of the reasons for the slow progress could be due to the lack of a government department in charge of this specific matter.

It is known that the office of the chief executive was tasked to coordinate with different public bodies to communicate with Alibaba for the smart city partnership in the administration led by former chief executive Fernando Chui Sai On, via the so-called Smart City Development Group under the Committee for the World Centre of Tourism and Leisure chaired by the CE. The Group was composed by representatives from different departments and led by the officials at the CE office. Nonetheless, the CE office is said to be not continuing this coordinating function after Ho Iat Seng assumed the position of the head of the government in December 2019, leaving each public body to follow up with the technology giant on their own projects.

The government should task an existing department or create a new unit specifically dedicated to the smart city development of Macau, Mr. Wong proposes. The department should be able to directly report to the chief executive so that it will be smoother for the department to access information and coordinate with different public bodies under the scope of different government secretaries.

To further expedite smart city development, the academic suggests the government should enhance the education of the matter among the public to reduce their concerns about data privacy, because the city has strict compliance with regulations about data usage and privacy. Using the bus rider real name registration scheme as an example, he says part of the community were against this in the beginning in worries of their personal data being used and abused in other fields, but they did not know clearly about the rigid requirements in regards to the access and usage of such data.

Besides the legal infrastructure, it is also of paramount importance for the authorities to improve the telecommunications infrastructure to support the smart + development in numerous fields, says legislator Ella Lei

IT and legal infrastructure

Meanwhile, legislator Ella Lei Cheng I underscores the significance of the advancement in legal infrastructure. For instance, the law on electronic governance enforced in 2020 provides guidelines and basis for public bodies to handle official communications and processing documents by electronic means, to offer the electronic version of some types of documents to the public instead of the paper version, and others.

Besides the legal infrastructure, it is also of paramount importance for the authorities to improve the telecommunications infrastructure namely, the quality of telecommunications service like fees and security, to support the smart + development in numerous fields, the lawmaker adds. For example, the issuance of 5G licenses has faced delays for years, and the government has only pledged to issue licenses this year after failing to do so last year.

Another legislator Ngan Iek Hang also questions the issuance progress of 5G licenses that might delay the citys development. The development of a smart city requires a series of IT infrastructure and the capacity to handle a gigantic amount of data. The 5G network, which is known for its high speed and multi-connectivity, is a key to such development, he illustrates, also enquiring about the progress of the legislation of telecommunications law that the government has said will pave the way for the 5G licensing process.

Concerning the governments vision of incorporating smart technology in various areas, the lawmaker says an overall framework and blueprint is needed. The idea of smart city development dispersed in multiple areas now from healthcare and elderly care to governance and municipal affairs to tourism and culture. Its challenging for the public to get a grasp of the idea at one go, he says.

A public consultation exercise on the smart city development strategies and key areas of development in Macau was undertaken in 2018, but the administration has not yet publicised the final version of the document.

The idea of smart city development disperse in multiple areas now from healthcare and elderly care to governance and municipal affairs to tourism and culture. Its challenging for the public to get grasp of the idea at one go, lawmaker Ngan Iek Hang indicates

Cultivation

From the perspective of Mr. Lei, talent cultivation is also crucial to smart city development. Its not simply about importing professionals from elsewhere to satiate the demand, but the government should think about how these imported professionals could help train locals that will expedite the development in related fields, she says. Other jurisdictions like Hong Kong have policies and measures in detail in cultivating talents in IT and innovative fields, but the resources the Macau authorities have input in this aspect are still not enough.

In a session at the Legislative Assembly by the end of last year, Secretary for Administration and Justice Andre Cheong Weng Chon confirmed the authorities would continue to work with Alibaba in facilitating smart city development. Divulging little detail, the official noted that the partnership would particularly strengthen personnel training on cloud computing and network security, in which Alibaba would send instructors to teach civil servants, who would also be dispatched to Alibaba to have first-hand learning experience.

This training should also be provided to the mid-to-high-level officials in the administration, who I think might not have the best idea of what a smart city is about, says Mr Wong of the Smart City Alliance Association of Macau.

Besides working with Alibaba, the academic adds the administration should also work with local companies in the sector. One of the reasons for smart city development is to expedite the industrial diversifications in Macau. Thus, the authorities should work with local companies in the segment and help them develop, he concludes.

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How to be smart - Macau Business