Daisy Ho has been appointed managing director (“administradora-delegada”) of SJM Resorts, S.A., amid the ongoing tender selection process regarding who will be awarded the 10-year gaming concession following the city’s biggest gaming law overhaul.
Ho replaces Angela Leong, who has been managing director of the group since 2011.
The company registry, which the Times reviewed, states that Leong was re-appointed to the position on May 27, 2022, which means that she is the official representative of SJM.
Her appointment – valid for three years until a general assembly convenes in 2025 – was terminated following a decision made by the company on August 24, 2022 and filed with the official commercial registry this week, on September 26.
According to that filing, Daisy Ho was appointed managing director, replacing Leong.
The move comes after incumbent gaming operators submitted their bids on of before September 14, seeking to secure a fresh gaming concession which is slated to operate from January 1, 2023.
In the city’s biggest gaming law overhaul, Article 19 requires that the concessionaire’s managing director “shall be a permanent resident of the Macau SAR and shall hold at least 15% of the capital stock of the concessionaire.”
This new regulation is an increase from the previous 10% of share ownership requirement which had been in place for the past 20 years.
“The appointment has been approved by the Chief Executive of the Macau SAR. With this appointment, Daisy Ho is granted expanded management rights and authorities,” SJM said in a statement.
With this appointment, Ho becomes the official representative of SJM, responsible for all formal business dealings and contacts with the SAR government, as well as with the subsidiaries of the company and other entities.
Ho is also responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of the Company and corporate matters including the formulation of policies, objectives, and investment plans to ensure that the Company and its activities are in full compliance with the relevant legal and regulatory obligations.
She was elected to the Board of Directors of SJM in March 2019. She is also an executive director of SJM Holdings Limited, the holding company of SJM, and was appointed as chairman in 2018.
Incumbent gaming operators, along with GMM Limited, are eyeing the opportunity to be granted one of the six concessions towards the end of the year, as the sector faces the fresh allocation of licenses by 2023.
The committee for the gaming tender bids met with the seven companies competing for the six concessions this week, where competitors presented their proposals in the hopes of securing a slot.
With the city’s biggest gaming law overhaul, the Chief Executive has the power to decide not to award all or some of the concessions put out to tender.
