MGM ready to invest extra to meet gov’t requirement

A mid the new tender’s requirement to make additional investments in light of gross gaming revenue (GGR) reaching MOP180 billion, MGM’s Pansy Ho said yesterday that the company is ready to invest the additional amounts.

During yesterday’s interview session with a handful of selected media outlets, Ho, chairperson and executive director of MGM China Holdings Limited, cited the enterprise’s swift recovery from the economic downturn to support her comment. The gambling concessionaire executive revealed that her enterprise had not only recovered from the low point but had in fact started making a profit.

“We have been in touch with banking consortiums discussing additional investments. With our satisfactory performance, there should not be a problem,” Ho said, underlining that MGM Cotai has space for future developments and upgrades, with a floor area reaching 100,000 square feet.

Despite admitting to not having the physical capacity to host large-scale exhibitions and commercial fairs, the executive emphasized that her enterprise is “completely capable of hosting meetings, incentives and conferences.”

Not completely satisfied with the current capacities of MGM properties, she disclosed that 60,000 square feet of space at MGM Macau is currently under transformation into a completely novel multimedia space for meetings, incentives and conferences, capable of hosting performances, fashion shows and art exhibitions, among other events of a similar scale.

“When we launch the new space, you will understand how versatile and multimedia-ready it will be,” Ho said. She explained that the walls of the new venue will be fully covered with LED panels – a display mode currently used at MGM Cotai – “so that event organizers will only need a digital file to decorate their space,” Ho explained.

The new venue will be ready in the third quarter of 2024.

After normal travel resumed, the enterprise observed that there are more younger customers visiting Macau, and they want to see products that differ from the last time they visited Macau. With that said, all resort operators will need to demonstrate novelty more regularly than in the past 20 years to cater to new consumer preferences.

This is why, Ho explained, her enterprise will leverage its networks in art and culture circles to renew its offerings more often. Meanwhile, she disclosed that after the current Art Macao exhibition at MGM Theatre, there will be a resident show. Details will be released in due course.

Speaking on her views on the speculated economic downturn in mainland China, based on the performance of her enterprise in the first half of the year, she believed that mainland residents will still travel, but not as far or as frequently as before. They may drop farther destinations from their itineraries and visit Macau more frequently.

“We’re trying to entice them to visit Macau every long weekend,” Ho said. “For example, China has similar shopping offerings as Europe, so mainland residents don’t need to travel that far.”

This is also why MGM has picked art as its marketing strategy, because it can be ‘instagrammable’ – or in China’s context, ‘Xiaohongshu-able.’ “People may encounter an event at MGM that they will put on social media, and their friends will follow their footsteps,” Ho explained.

On community efforts, she revealed that the enterprise’s annual lion dance event will incorporate the city’s historic background and be staged in front of A-Ma Temple. “So, we’re connecting an intangible heritage (lion dance) with a tangible heritage,” she said.

It was also disclosed that the resort operator will soon open offices in Osaka, Japan and Manila, the Philippines.

Yesterday also saw MGM Cotai launching its Art Macao collateral exhibition, which showcases the Valkyrie Miss Dior art installation created by Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos. The 24 by 7 meter installation has been created in association with luxury fashion brand Christian Dior and has been shown at the brand’s haute couture show in Paris.

It is the artist’s second art installation on show at an MGM China property. In 2015, the artist showcased her Valkyrie Octopus at MGM Macau’s Grande Praça. The Octopus will tour to Europe this year before returning to China for a country tour.