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Two million people in Japan were told Saturday to seek shelter before the arrival of Typhoon Nanmadol, national broadcaster NHK said, as the weather agency issued a rare special warning about the powerful storm.

NHK, which compiles alerts issued by local authorities, said level four evacuation instructions the second highest were in place for people in Kagoshima, Kumamoto and Miyazaki in the southern Kyushu region.

The move came as the Japan Meteorological Agency issued its highest alert for the Kagoshima region, a warning that comes when it forecasts conditions only seen once in several decades.

It is the first typhoon-linked special warning issued outside of the Okinawa region since the current system began in 2013.

On Saturday evening, Typhoon Nanmadol was classed at the agencys top category of violent, and was packing gusts of up to 270 kilometres (167 miles) as it hovered about 200 kilometres north-northeast of Minami Daito island, part of a string of remote isles that form the Okinawa region.

The storm is expected to approach or make landfall on Sunday in Kagoshima prefecture, then move north the following day before heading towards Japans main island.

There are risks of unprecedented storms, high waves, storm surges, and record rainfall, Ryuta Kurora, the headof the Japan Meteorological Agencys forecast unit, told reporters.

Maximum caution is required, he said, urging residents to evacuate early.

Its a very dangerous typhoon.

The wind will be so fierce that some houses might collapse, Kurora told reporters, also warning of flooding and landslides.

The evacuation warnings call on people to move to shelter or alternative accommodation that can withstand extreme weather.

But they are not mandatory, and during past extreme weather events authorities have struggled to convince residents to take shelter quickly enough.

Kurora said even inside strong buildings, residents should take precautions.

Please move into sturdy buildings before violent winds start to blow and stay away from windows even inside sturdy buildings, he told a late night press conference.

Japan is currently in typhoon season and faces around 20 such storms a year, routinely seeing heavy rains that cause landslides or flash floods.

In 2019, Typhoon Hagibis smashed into Japan as it hosted the Rugby World Cup, claiming the lives of more than 100 people.

A year earlier, Typhoon Jebi shut down Kansai Airport in Osaka, killing 14 people.

And in 2018, floods and landslides killed more than 200 people in western Japan during the countrys annual rainy season.

Ahead of Typhoon Nanmadols arrival, flight cancellations began to affect regional airports including those in Kagoshima, Miyazaki and Kumamoto, according to the websites of Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways.

Scientists say climate change is increasing the severity of stormsand causing extreme weather such as heat waves, droughts and flash floods to become more frequent and intense.

by Natsuko FUKUE

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Millions told to seek shelter as Japan warns on Typhoon Nanmadol - Macau Business

Vietnamese authorities have arrested the owner of a karaoke bar where a fire killed 32 people earlier this month, police said Saturday.

The blaze ripped through a three-storey entertainment venue nine days ago in a dense residential neighbourhood of Thuan An city, north of commercial hub Ho Chi Minh City.

It trapped customers and staff as smoke filled the staircase and blocked the emergency exit.

Seventeen people were injured, with many suffering broken bones after the flames forced them to jump from the roof, police said.

Binh Duong provincial police on Saturday confirmed in a statement that bar owner Le Anh Xuan, 42, was arrested a day earlier and would face criminal charges related to breaching fire prevention regulations.

He will be held in custody for four months while the investigation continues, police added.

While 15 of the injured have been released from hospital, two of the most seriously hurt are still receiving medical treatment.

The bodies of the 32 people killed have been handed over to their families.

Firefighters initially struggled to enter the building because of the fires intensity and had to knock down part of a wall to get inside.

Sixty people were inside the 30-room bar when the fire erupted and eight people were found dead in the bars toilet.

In the aftermath of the tragedy survivors described their harrowing escape from the blaze.

We thought we would die, karaoke parlour worker Do Thanh Tu told state media.

Authorities initially blamed an electrical short circuit for the blaze but said the bar had met all fire safety standards in checks over the past three years.

Police partly blamed drunken singers.

They were drunk. So when the staff at the karaoke bar informed them about the fire people in some karaoke rooms didnt listen, provincial police chief Trinh Ngoc Quyen said during a press conference.

In what was previously Vietnams deadliest fire, 13 people died in a 2018 blaze in an apartment complex in Ho Chi Minh City.

In 2016, a fire at a karaoke facility in the capital Hanoi left 13 people dead, prompting a country-wide assessment of fire prevention measures at bars and clubs.

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has ordered a further inspection of high-risk venues, especially karaoke bars.

Last month, three firefighters died after trying to extinguish a fire at another karaoke bar in Hanoi.

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Owner of Vietnam bar arrested after blaze that killed 32 - Macau Business

President Joe Biden met Friday with relatives of basketball star Brittney Griner and fellow US citizen Paul Whelan, who are both imprisoned in Russia, the White House said.

In separate Oval Office meetings, Biden conferred first with Whelans sister, Elizabeth Whelan, and then Cherelle Griner, the wife of the gold medal athlete.

There was no immediate word from the White House on how these sessions played out, but national security spokesman John Kirby earlier told reporters that discussions are ongoing to secure Griners release.

The president is not going to let up. Hes confident that this is going to remain at the forefront of his mind and his teams mind, Kirby said.

In August, Moscow said it was ready to discuss a prisoner swap for Griner, sparking hopes of a rapid resolution.

Kirby said the Biden administration had made what he called a serious proposal but they are not responding to our offer.

These two individuals ought to be home already. Period, he added.

Griner was arrested at a Moscow airport in February, shortly before Russias invasion of Ukraine, for possessing vape cartridges with a small amount of cannabis oil.

The 31-year-old, who was in Russia to play for the professional Yekaterinburg team during her off-season from the Phoenix Mercury, was charged with smuggling narcotics and was sentenced in early August to nine years in a penal colony.

Former US marine Whelan, 52, was arrested in December 2018 and accused by Russian security services of spying.

He was detained on a visit to Moscow to attend a wedding when he took a USB drive from an acquaintance, thinking it contained holiday photographs. He did not look at the contents of the drive, but his lawyer said it contained state secrets.

The former security official at a vehicle parts company who also has British, Canadian and Irish passports was sentenced to 16 years on espionage charges in June 2020.

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Biden meets relatives of Americans jailed in Russia - Macau Business

Study involving IFTM scholars explores potential role of the performing arts in promoting a tourism destination

Research Corner | A partnership between Macau Business and the Macao Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM)

The performing arts can play a part in improving the image tourists have of a particular destination, says a piece of research involving two scholars from Macao Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM). The staging of such performances can be an influential attribute for places that might otherwise lack major attractions for visitors, the researchers stated.

As such, branded performing arts programmes should be highlighted in tourism marketing efforts where appropriate, they suggested.

The study was carried out by IFTM scholars Dr Joe Zhou Yong and Dr Soey Lei Sut Ieng, in partnership with Dr Yan Libo from Macau University of Science and Technology. The findings were featured in the academic paper Linking tourists performing arts experience and perceived destination image. It was published last year in the scholarly journal Tourism Recreation Research.

The work was financially supported by Macau University of Science and Technology Foundation.

The research was based on a survey answered by a sample of 419 tourists. They all had watched a live circus performance at an arena in a leading amusement park resort in the neighbouring mainland city of Zhuhai.

The research team concluded that the staging of performing arts could be an effective vehicle to showcase to visitors the cultural charm and the varied offerings of a particular destination. For places that lacked natural or physical attractions but were eager to modify or improve the way they were perceived by tourists, performing arts could be a good and easy-to-implement option in their strategy toolkit, the researchers suggested.

A good performing arts experience had high potential for enhancing destination image, stated the trio of scholars. This is an interesting finding as previous studies have rarely investigated such relationships.

Beautifier for a destinations image

The research concluded that tourist experience of both core and supplementary services relating to a performing arts product had a significant impact on how tourists perceived the value of that offering. This, in turn, affected tourist satisfaction, ultimately influencing how they judged in cognitive and affective terms the image of the host destination.

The core service of a performing arts offering refers to the show or act experience. The supplementary services cover things such as the venue where the performance is delivered, auxiliary amenities, ticketing, and transportation to the venue.

The authors of the study highlighted that Chinese tourists were less concerned about supplementary services than they were about the core service. Although performance organisers needed to ensure supplementary services were of good quality, they should consider allocating more resources to develop and improve their core services for such visitors, it was suggested.

The performing arts should not be limited to serving the needs of local communities, the team of scholars argued. The role played by the staging of such work could be expanded, with the performing arts becoming an important tourist economy activity and a destination image beautifier.

Providing theatre-based performing arts programmes to tourists was an effective way of diversifying the tourist product offering of a destination, said the researchers. The diversification of products and attractions was helpful for retaining tourists timewise in a location, useful for encouraging repeat visits, and assisted in generating word-of-mouth recommendation, they added.

The team of scholars said that performing arts products could contribute to sustainable tourism development. Their research focused on performing arts performances delivered in an arena setting, which the authors described as a form of alternative tourism. The benefits of this form of consumption by tourists stemmed from the fact live art products enrich tourists experience, prolong their sojourn in the destination, and have a relatively lower negative impact on residents, the researchers stated.

The researchers

Dr Joe Zhou Yong is an assistant professor at Macao Institute for Tourism Studies (IFTM). He holds a PhD from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research interests centre around destination development, tourism impact and community perception studies, and event and festival tourism.

IFTM lecturer Dr Soey Lei Sut Ieng received a PhD from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her research focuses on the impact of technological innovation on consumer behaviour in the tourism and hospitality industry, with a focus on mobile applications and digital marketing.

Dr Yan Libo is an associate professor at Macau University of Science and Technology. He holds a PhD from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His academic research interests include tourist experience, tourist attractions, destination marketing, and destination management. He is on the editorial board of scholarly journal Tourism Review.

The paper

(Joe) Yong Zhou, Sut Ieng Lei and Libo Yan: Linking tourists performing arts experience and perceived destination image, Tourism Recreation Research, Volume 46, Issue 1, pages 71 to 84, 2021.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02508281.

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The show must go on and attract tourists - Macau Business

NASAs most powerful rocket yet is set to blast off Monday on the maiden voyage of a mission to take humans back to the Moon, and eventually to Mars.

Fifty years after the last time astronauts set foot on the moon in 1972 as part of the Apollo 17 mission, the space program called Artemis is to get under way with the blast off of the uncrewed 322-foot (98-meter) Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at 8:33 am (1233 GMT) from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Tens of thousands of people including US Vice President Kamala Harris are expected to gather along the beach to watch the launch, which has been decades in the making.

Hotels around Cape Canaveral are booked solid with between 100,000 and 200,000 spectators expected to attend the launch.

The goal of the flight, dubbed Artemis 1, is to test the SLS and the Orion crew capsule that sits atop the rocket.

The capsule will orbit the Moon to see if the vessel is safe for people in the near future. At some point, Artemis will see a woman and a person of color walk on the Moon for the first time.

This mission goes with a lot of hopes and dreams of a lot of people. And we now are the Artemis generation, NASA administrator Bill Nelson said Saturday.

The massive orange-and-white rocket has been sitting on the space centers Launch Complex 39B for more than a week.

Its fuel tanks began to be filled overnight Sunday to Monday, with NASAs Exploration Ground Systems tweeting that they have been given a go for tanking.

But there was a brief delay of about an hour because of a high risk of lightning when the fueling operations were set to begin.

The process will continue for several hours, until the rocket is filled with more than three million liters of liquid hydrogen and oxygen.

NASA said there is an 80 percent chance of acceptable weather for a liftoff on time at the beginning of a launch window lasting two hours.

For the first time a woman Charlie Blackwell-Thompson will give the final green light for liftoff.

Women now account for 30 percent of the staff in the control room; there was just one for the Apollo 11 mission, the first time astronauts landed on the moon in 1969.

Cameras will capture every moment of the 42-day trip, including a picture of the spacecraft with the Moon and Earth in the background.

The Orion capsule will orbit around the Moon, coming within 60 miles (100 kilometers) at its closest approach and then firing its engines to get to a distance 40,000 miles beyond, a record for a spacecraft rated to carry humans.

Besides the weather, any kind of technical snafu could delay the liftoff at the last minute, NASA officials have said, stressing that this is a test flight.

If the rocket is unable to take off on Monday, September 2 and 5 have been penciled in as alternative flight dates.

One of the primary objectives of the mission is to test the capsules heat shield, which at 16 feet in diameter is the largest ever built.

On its return to the Earths atmosphere, the heat shield will have to withstand a speed of 25,000 miles per hour and a temperature of 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit (2,760 degrees Celsius). That is half as hot as the Sun.

Dummies fitted with sensors will take the place of real crew members, recording acceleration, vibration and radiation levels.

The craft will deploy small satellites to study the lunar surface.

A complete failure would be devastating for a program that is costing $4.1 billion per launch and is already running years behind schedule.

Mondays launch is not a near-term sprint, but a long-term marathon to bring the solar system and beyond into our sphere, said Bhavya Lal, NASA associate administrator for technology, policy and strategy.

The next mission, Artemis 2, will take astronauts into orbit around the Moon without landing on its surface. The crew of Artemis 3 is to land on the Moon in 2025 at the earliest.

And since humans have already visited the Moon, Artemis has its sights set on another lofty goal an eventual crewed mission to Mars.

The Artemis program is to establish a lasting human presence on the Moon with an orbiting space station known as Gateway and a base on the surface.

Gateway would serve as a staging and refueling station for a voyage to Mars that would take a minimum of several months.

by Lucie AUBOURG

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NASA shoots for the Moon, on its way to Mars - Macau Business

Go-karting is continuing to gain a following in Cuba, with the sports competition circuit returning after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the Playa El Salado go-kart track in the municipality of Caimito, Artemisa province, about 40 kilometers from Havana, karting fans meet at weekends to test their skills behind the wheel on the 1.2 kilometer circuit.

Among them is Abel Valdes, who started karting around 30 years ago. He told Xinhua he has to import everything from tires to spare parts.

We dont always fix them, we struggle, you can see it here. The spirit of the people is good. We fight to be able to drive, which is what we want, he said minutes before entering the track.

Ruben Cantillo started karting at the age of eight and now pursues his hobby while also working as a mechanic, running his own garage in the municipality of La Lisa.

We are making every effort, almost superhuman, we would say, so that karting stays afloat and can have the boom it had in previous years, he told Xinhua.

Cantillo added that he had thought about quitting, but it was difficult to do so because his family was one of the founders of the sport in Cuba in the 1970s.

The popularity of karting in Cuba is on the rise, with new drivers like 17-year-old Pablo Raul Nascianceno, who started racing this year after passing a preparation course for young drivers, eager to unleash their adrenaline.

My passion for motor racing and karting in general began when I was little. It is the motor sport that can be done here. My biggest goal is Formula 1 on the big international circuits, he said.

According to official sources, the island currently has around 200 go-karts and karting enthusiasts from all over the island turn out for the annual Cocomar Cup, held at the Caimito track.

Angel Luis Amador, president of the working group for the development of karting in the province of Artemisa, told Xinhua that there is a local development project underway to improve the infrastructure of the kart track in Caimito and to further promote the sport.

We have the Grand Final in December. In addition, we are qualifying referees for our competitions. Karting is part of Cubas sporting identity, he said.

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Cuba works to keep sport of karting alive - Macau Business

Chinas slowing economy has left millions of young people fiercely competing for an ever-slimming raft of jobs and facing an increasingly uncertain future.

Official data released this month showed one in five young people in Chinese cities was out of work in July more than three times the national average and the highest recorded since January 2018.

Nearly 11 million graduates entered Chinas bleak job market this summer with the economy growing at 0.4 percent in the second quarter, the weakest in two years.

Zhao Yuting, 22, told AFP companies were reluctant to hire as the economy cools and that experienced workers were now jostling for entry-level jobs, elbowing out green hands such as her.

Since graduating in July, she submitted her CV to dozens of companies.

Only a handful called her back for an interview, only to turn her down saying she lacked experience.

Armed with a degree in English, Zhao thought she could earn a living as a tutor until she found full-time work.

But recent crackdowns on the tech and education sectors, which usually absorb fresh talent, have evaporated such jobs.

Ive been job hunting for two or three months but the prospects of being hired look slim, said Zhao, who has been forced to move back in with her parents while she hunts for work.

The longer it takes, the greater the pressure.

Analysts blame a slowing economy crippled by Covid lockdowns, as well as the large cohort entering the labour force during the graduating season in July and August, for the slim prospects facing Chinas youth.

Official data does not track unemployment among rural youth, and the real jobless population could be more than double the official number, estimated Zhuang Bo, an economist at research group TS Lombard.

Blue-collar workers, too, are struggling to find work as growth in the manufacturing and construction sectors cools.

The reality is more serious than what the data shows, said Ho-fung Hung, who specialises in Chinas political economy at Johns Hopkins University.

If the problem continues without remedy, it will easily spread social disorders.

At a job fair in the tech hub Shenzhen, long lines of anxious parents and young graduates waited for a chance to chat with recruiters.

But headhunters at the fair said they were cherry-picking graduates from top universities, because only a few positions were available.

My goal was to work in Shenzhen, in Chinas Silicon Valley, Luo Wen, a computer science graduate, told AFP.

But after more than four months of searching, Im ready to work even in a smaller city, for less pay.

Graduates who managed to find work this year were offered salaries that were on average 12 percent less than last year, data from online recruitment firm Zhaopin showed.

And while some job seekers were lowering their ambitions, others were biding their time pursuing further studies.

Experts warned that this may lead to degree inflation, where employers demand higher and higher qualifications for jobs that do not necessarily require them.

Analysts blamed government policies that saw a rapid rise in college students over the past decade as the economy failed to accommodate more knowledge workers.

The pandemic and lockdowns simply aggravated the problem, Hung said.

The government has pledged to shore up employment by offering tax relief for small businesses and more start-up funding.

Premier Li Keqiang has said Chinas employment crisis is complex and grave and called on state-owned companies to step up to stabilise the economy.

And as growth in the private sector slows, job seekers have flocked to cram schools to prepare for highly competitive civil service exams.

A record-breaking two million people signed up for the national civil service exam last fall.

A recent survey by 51job, one of Chinas biggest job search services, found that 40 percent of respondents preferred stable state jobs over corporate careers.

But for Zhao, who cannot afford to study further and does not have the connections to secure a government job, few options remain.

I feel that I cant see the future, she said.

I havent made any progress. Its miserable.

By Poornima Weerasekara

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China's jobless youth left in the lurch - Macau Business

The 30thanniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and South Korea on August 24, 2022 was marked by celebrations, active engagement from both sides, challenges and opportunities for the two countries in the coming years.

First, the Chinese President Xi Jinping exchanged congratulatory messages with his South Korean counterpart Yoon Suk-yeol on August 24. President Xi remarked that Sino-South Korean have been developing quickly due to the mutual respect and trust from both sides, the accommodation of each others core interests, and the enhancement of understanding through communications. Moreover, both countries, according to Xi, adopt the principles of openness and inclusiveness, safeguarding regional peace and stability, promoting regional economic development, and preserving the basic norms in dealing with international relations. All these are valuable assets that both sides, President Xi said, should cherish.

President Xi also expressed his desire that both sides can maintain good friendly and neighborly relations, consolidate strategic communications and focus on cooperation.

On August 9, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met the South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin in Qingdao. Park Jin said that the South Korean side insists on denuclearization in the Korean Peninsula, pointing to the unprecedented threat to regional peace, and hoping that the Chinese side can play a constructive role of fostering dialogue with North Korea. Park Jin appealed to China to attach importance to maintain strategic communication, expressing his hope that President Xi would be able to visit South Korea. Park Jin also appealed to the need for stability in logistical supplies an indication that the South Korean side was worried about Chinas technology policy and the impact of its rivalry with the US.

In response to Park Jins concerns, Wang Yi said that the Sino-South Korean relations had undergone winds and rainfall, that both sides remain safe neighbors coexisting with each other as necessary partners, and that both sides should insist on independence and autonomy, non-interference from outside, continuous openness, mutual respect and equality, multilateralism and the adherence to the UN Charter.

One big challenge in Sino-South Korean relations is the Chinese concern about the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THADD) anti-missile system in South Korea a defensive measure which have damaged their relationships since 2017. China is deeply concerned about its national security threat in the face of the THADD system, but South Korea has been aided by the US to deter the North Korean military threat.

As long as the principle of deterrence is used in dealing with national security in the Korean Peninsula, the relations between China, South Korea, US and North Korea are complex. North Korea is keen to develop and maintain its strong military, including the testing and development of its nuclear weapons. South Korea and the US see North Korea as a serious military threat. China as a friendly neighbor of North Korea can play the role of being a middleman between Pyongyang on the one hand and South Korea and the US on the other hand.

On August 5, the South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol did not meet the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi due to his scheduled vacation, shortly after her politically provocative visit to Taiwan. President Yoons gesture appeared to avoid antagonizing China at a politically sensitive time although he had a 40-minute phone discussion with Pelosi. South Korea was sensitive to the way in which the US tackles the issue of Taiwan.

However, in the era of a new Cold War in East Asia where the US is competing with China in economic and military spheres, a recent move made by South Korea to join the US-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework and Chip 4 triggers Chinas sensitivity. The recent global shortages of semiconductor have made the US President Joe Biden and his think tank propose forming a Chips Alliance composed of South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. China, however, sees this Chip 4 Alliance as a pro-American alliance that threatens its security interests.

Ideologically, South Korea cherishes universal values such as democracy, freedom and human rights like the US. The South Korean Consul General in Hong Kong, Baek Yong-chun, has recently remarked that Hong Kong must continue its position as an open and an intermediary trading hub different from mainland China to maintain its international appeal. A free and open business environment in Hong Kong is essential for international business, according to Baek, who skillfully avoided mentioning democracy and human rights in Hong Kong, which has to some extent been mainlandized in the recent years after years of political turmoil and struggles.

Consul General Baek added that if Hong Kong were the same as China, then the territory would have no rationale to exist a remark implying that he was quite concerned about the extent of mainlandization of Hong Kong.

In fact, public opinion in South Korea has shown that more young people have developed negative attitudes toward China. A poll demonstrated that 80 percent of the South Koreans have engendered negative sentiments on China. This finding is perhaps not surprising because of a very different political culture in South Korea and the widespread international perception that the rise of China has been marked by its assertiveness in the diplomatic, political, economic and military spheres.

Perhaps fortunately, the South Korean foreign policy is made and driven by political elites, career diplomats and Sinologists who understand how to deal with China skillfully, tactfully and assertively if necessary.

In early August, it was reported that Chinese officials attempted to exert pressure on the South Korean side to observe three promises made by the previous Moon Jae-in government, namely the promises of not participating in the THAAD system, not adding any new THAAD anti-missile system, and not promoting the military alliance between South Korea, US and Japan. However, the South Korean media reported that the South Korean officials in Beijing argued that these were not promises made by the Moon government.

During the celebration of the 30thanniversary of Sino-South Korean relations, the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended a celebration event in Beijing with Chung Jae-ho, the South Korean ambassador to China. They both read the congratulatory messages from their presidents. Wang interestingly called on both sides to synergize developmental strategies by deepening cooperation in areas such as high-tech manufacturing, big data and green economy. He added that both sides should oppose decoupling or severing supply chains, safeguard the free trade system, and jointly maintain the openness and inclusiveness of industrial supply chains.

Wangs remarks clearly attempted to calm the concerns about whether Chinas economic policies might turn more self-protective. Recent reports on China have pointed to the continuation of economic pragmatism.

Perhaps more innovative efforts at developing an East Asian Free Trade Economic Region, which can be considered and made on the basis of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, and which is composed of China, Japan and South Korea, would bring about peace and stability in the long run.

Grasping the chance of celebrating the 30thanniversary of bilateral relations between China and South Korea, the Korean Unification Minister Kwon Young-se met Chinas top ambassador in Seoul, Xing Haiming. Kwon stressed that his ministry would closely communicate with the Chinese side to push ahead with the policies of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and the consolidation of cooperation. Kwon also called on China to play a constructive role to elicit any positive response from North Korea on President Yoons audacious plan of seeking to help Pyongyang to improve its economy in return for denuclearization.

In conclusion, the 30thanniversary of Sino-South Korean relations are marked by a common desire to enhance cooperation and deepen mutual exchanges in all areas. However, the issue of THAAD remains a baffling problem in Sino-South Korean relations. If both sides can tackle economic relations and focus on non-sensitive areas of cooperation, Sino-South Korean relations remain optimistic. After all, China remains a crucial middleman that can bridge the communication gap and frosty relations between South Korea and North Korea. The challenge is for South Korea to strike a very precarious balance between its tendency to be dragged into the military alliance with the US and its necessity of adopting a skillful diplomacy toward China in the very complex relations between Seoul, Pyongyang, Washington and Beijing.

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OPINION - Challenges and opportunities in Chinas relations with South Korea - Macau Business

HONG KONG, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Casino operator MGM China Holding (2282.HK) said it will inject 4.8 billion patacas ($594 million) into its MGM Grande Paradise unit as it prepares to re-tender for a licence to operate its gaming business in Macau.

Under the terms of a revised gaming law released by Macau's legislature earlier this year, a casino needs a minimum capital requirement of 5 billion patacas, and the managing director of the concessionaire must be a Macau permanent resident holding at least 15% of its capital.

MGM China, the Chinese arm of U.S. gambling giant MGM Resorts International, said in a filing on Sunday that if the company is awarded the new concession, co-chairperson Pansy Ho will fill that role.

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MGM Grande Paradise will issue 4.07 million Class A shares to the company at an aggregate subscription price of 4.07 billion patacas, MGM China said in the filing, and issue and transfer another 730,000 Class B shares to Ho.

After the completion of the deal, MGM China and Ho's holdings in MGM Grande Paradise will increase to 84.6% and 15% respectively, while MGM Resort International's stake will drop to 0.4% from 10%.

($1 = 8.0810 patacas)

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Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Jan Harvey

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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MGM China to inject $594 million into Macau unit to re-tender for casino license - Reuters

The struggle for Macau's casinos seems far from over. Macaus 41 casino operators reported half-year losses of $2 billion, and total gaming revenue came in at $3.3 billion. The latest numbers come as the city struggles to recover from its largest Covid outbreak, which saw the lock-down of casinos for two weeks, and as virus restrictions from the Mainland continue to affect average daily travel, putting a strain on the industry.

All Macau operators, the only place in China where gambling in casinos is legal, have reported losses in H1 2022. Galaxy Entertainment, which operates Galaxy Macau casino resort, reported an 850 million Hong Kong dollar ($108 million) loss between January and June, reversing a HK$947 million ($120.6 million) profit for the same period last year.

Melco Resorts & Entertainment said its half-year loss hit $434.7 million while operating revenues dropped nearly 29% at the company headed by Lawrence Ho, son of the late gaming tycoon Stanley Ho.

Last week,Wynn Macau reported that HK$3.6 billion ($458,835) first-half loss, after MGM China said it lost HK$2.4 billion ($305,890) in the same period. MGM China's Hong Kong-listed shares have lost nearly half their value over the past year.

Sands China, which runs The Venetian Macao and Sands Macao, said last month that its first-half loss nearly doubled from a year ago to HK$5.96 billion ($759,627), with revenue tumbling nearly 44% from a year ago. Meanwhile, SJM Holdings, whose stock is down more than 50% over the past year, lost HK$2.75 billion ($350,499) in the first half, nearly doubling from a year earlier.

More than two years of virus restrictions have been disastrous for the city's six gaming companies, with several leaning on credit lines to keep the lights on. Moreover, annual visitor numbers have plummeted from 39 million in 2019 when Macao raked in gaming revenue of about $36 billion.

According to Jefferies analyst Andrew Lee, Macao is unlikely to see a firm recovery until 2023. "We expect visitation to remain low in the near term on fear of quarantine," he wrote in a note, as reported by NikkeiAsia.

Analysts are warning that gaming revenue, which accounts for 80% of government tax revenue, could fall further even as the city reopens its border with mainland city Zhuhai. The latest numbers released by NikkeiAsiacome following the July revenue report when the city reported anall-time gaming revenue low, with gross gaming revenue falling 95% to 398 million patacas ($49 million), 98% lower than pre-pandemic levels.

"We expect that gross gaming revenues in Macau, as well as hotel, restaurant, and other nongaming activities that depend on tourism, will continue to be negatively impacted by COVID-19 for an indefinite period," said SJM Holdings in an exchange filing.

On Thursday, Melco shared its unaudited second-quarter financial results. Total operating revenues for Q2 were $296.1 million, down approximately 44% from $566.4 million in the comparable period in 2021.

The decrease in total operating revenues was primarily attributable to heightened border restrictions in Macau and mainland China related to COVID-19, which led to a softer performance in the rolling chip and mass market table games segments. This was accompanied byan operating loss for the quarter of $209.2 million. Melco generated negative Adjusted Property EBITDA of $13.8 million, compared with $79.1 million in Q2 2021.

Breaking down figures by resort findsCity of Dreams Macau posted operating revenue of $97.3 million in Q2, down from $347.6 million the prior year. The Altira Macau hotel posted operating revenues down to $7.2 million in Q2 from $18.3 million; Studio City reported $35.9 million in operating revenues, down from $104.5 million last year; and City of Dreams Manila posted operating revenues of $111.7 million, up when compared to $52.7 million in Q2 2021.

Lawrence Ho, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, said: "It goes without saying that our results for the second quarter of 2022 were heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions imposed across mainland China and Macau. Throughout the pandemic, ensuring the health and safety of our Colleagues has been very important, and these continued to be our highest priority through the recent outbreak in Macau."

"In contrast to the challenges we have been facing in Macau, our businesses in the Philippines and Cyprus have been improving with volumes gradually recovering toward pre-COVID levels," the executive added.

Despite the current struggles and hurdles, operators in Macau are now gearing up to bid for new licenses ahead of the September 14 deadline. Operating rights are set to expire at the end of the year so the tenders, which require a minimum guarantee of MOP10 million ($1.2 million), are crucial to casino operators' operations.

Macao has tightened its gaming law and cracked down on lucrative VIP gambling, which is forcing operators to turn their focus to mass-market gaming and foreign gamblers, a move that would mean a full recovery might not come until 2024, Moody's Investors Service has said. The city is also pushing operators to expand nongaming entertainment options.

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Macau's casino losses exceed $2B mark in H1 as they await bidding process; recovery not expected until 2023 - Yogonet International