Macau, a gambling enclave frequented by rich Chinese and moneyed foreigners, and where hundreds of migrant Filipinos work, is about to get caught in a tempest. Macau residents are up in arms against Nevada-based Las Vegas Sands Corp., owner and operator of Sands Macau Casino Resort, over its plan to abandon a development project at the Cotai strip on a reclaimed land and invest, instead, in Singapore, Macau?s strongest rival in the casino and leisure business.

A frequent visitor to Macau told this writer that residents of the former Portuguese colony had been circulating a petition paper to gather support against the actions of Las Vegas Sands. Residents are incensed at Sands Macau?s plan to abandon work in the hotel casino project at the Cotai strip reportedly because of the global financial crisis. Residents, however, learned that the casino operator was opening its newest gaming hotel in Singapore before the end of the year, after the island state lifted its decades-long ban on gambling four years ago in an attempt to attract tourism dollars and compete with Macau.

The petition said ?Sands Casino has made huge profits in Macau, the bulk of which through gaming and almost entirely from Chinese gamblers? since opening in 2004, adding that it ?recovered its capital investment within the first year of operation of the Sands Casino in Macau.?

The petition claimed that in spite of making substantial profits from its Macau casino gaming concession, Sands Casino did not contribute sufficiently to Macau society and ?did not even donate significantly to help the Sichuan earthquake victims...?

?Sands Casino was given most favorable treatment by the Macau Government and granted land concessions in the Cotai area at a low price on certain representations and promises that it has now failed to fulfill: there was no significant incremental foreign tourism as originally represented and no substantial increase in convention business; and now, projects in Cotai are left uncompleted.?

Injured pride

The frequent Filipino visitor to Macau said many businessmen there were hurt by the development. Considering the size of Las Vegas Sands operations that affect ?almost every part of Macau society and business,? the petition says the casino operator ?must know that its actions will have serious impact and repercussions on the Macau economy and the Macau people.

?By its actions to suspend or abandon its partially completed projects in Cotai/Macau and divert resources from Macau to concentrate on its Singapore Casino, Sands Casino knows that jobs which it promised to create in Macau will be lost and that its actions could result in massive unemployment and social and economic harm to Macau,? the paper warned.

?Finally, by abandoning Macau people in preference for Singapore, Sands Casino hurt and injured the pride and feelings of the Macau people showing Sands Casino to be ungrateful and non-appreciative of the goodwill and special favors granted... by the Macau Government...?

The petition called on the Macau government to consider imposing stricter rules and tighter supervision of the operations of Sands Casino to show, among other things, that it was not ?repatriating locally generated funds overseas to finance other projects to compete with Macau, instead of first completing its projects in Cotai.?

It also urged the government to compel the casino operator ?to guarantee the full and due compliance of all its contractual and legal obligations under the gambling and land concessions granted by Macau.

?If Sands does not comply with its legal obligations, the Macau government should consider taking back the land concessions for the uncompleted projects and re-tender the same for sale to the highest bidder so that vast tracts of precious land in Cotai will not be tied up indefinitely...?

Reaction on Shell?s dilemma

Last week?s column, entitled ?Unfolding events weaken Shell?s resolve to stay in RP,? elicited an interesting reaction from Vicky Villena Denton, editor-in-chief of Fuels & Lubes International Magazine.

Ms. Denton writes: ?I would like to propose a different scenario than what your article implied. Shell will sell its assets, including its refinery, to PNOC, if PNOC has the funds for the purchase. However, in today?s business environment, and the investment that needs to be made to upgrade the refinery to produce lower sulfur fuels, government funds are better spent elsewhere.?

?How can it compete with Korean and Singaporean refineries? At the end of the day, realistically we may be left with one refinery in the country. Size does matter in the refinery business.?

E-mail: rayenano@yahoo.com or business@manilastandtoday.com