Amid the deteriorating employment status in the SAR, Sands China has affirmed that there is still a need for expats in the region.
The pandemic has taken a toll on the economy, leaving thousands of local residents still jobless. Several lawmakers are calling for the jobs of Macau ID holders to be safeguarded.
Recent data from the government shows that some 13,300 are still unemployed.
Speaking to the press on the sidelines of an event, Sands China president, Wilfred Wong, said the gaming operator had not renewed the contracts of some foreign workers.
However, “there is always a need for expatriates,” the top official of the gaming operator said.
“We have let go of some employees with foreign passports. I think this is probably the right thing to do. The unemployment situation has deteriorated in Macau but there are still jobs that probably local people are not interested in,” Wong explained.
He added that the gaming operator has participated in job fairs organized by the Labour Affairs Bureau (DSAL) to cater to local residents seeking employment.
Recently, several lawmakers have called for clearer contract cessation of the non-local workforce, noting that many companies are in fact major non-local workforce employers, despite operating government tenders or contracts.
On Monday, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong defended the government, arguing it cannot cancel all quotas for non-resident workers to solve the unemployment problems in Macau.
For him, reducing the number of quotas will not solve the city’s unemployment issue, implying that a skill-mismatch is at work in the region.
“The exit of non-resident workers does not mean that we will be able to solve the unemployment problem in Macau […] if we cancel all their quotas, this does not mean that our residents will be able to enter their respective jobs and that is a loss for both parties,” he explained.
Recent official data shows that the number of non-resident workers as at the end of April plunged by 29,927 compared with the end of 2019.
Late last year, the Chief Executive himself encouraged workers to “adjust their mentality, so as to try a different profession according to their own aptitudes.”
The Londoner awaits tourism rebound for full opening
Sands China’s USD2.2 billion investment, The Londoner Macao, is awaiting the resumption of strong tourist arrivals before the full opening of the integrated resort officially takes place. “We’re waiting for the completion of everything, right now the only thing still under construction and in the final stages of tuning is the 6,000-seat arena, which we expect to be ready in the second half of the year,” said Wilfred Wong, president of Sands China. Also, he hopes that Macau’s quarantine period for Hong Kong arrivals will be shortened from 14 to 10 or seven days to attract more tourists from the neighboring region.
The president admitted that the pandemic situation in Beijing and Shanghai has impacted the sector as the city has mostly only been receiving visitors from Guangdong.
“There is a lot of demand for holidays and I think really a lot depends on how restrictive the government in China is imposing on traveling,” he added. LV
