Casino tycoon sees profits plunge 57pc
Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun says last year was the worst his gambling business has seen.
The tycoon blamed 'poor security' for the slump, which saw net profits fall 57 per cent compared with 1998.
But the 78-year-old said after a board meeting yesterday that he was optimistic about the prospects for gambling turnover this year because of the enclave's improved security situation since December's handover.
According to a casino executive, the net profit of the Macau Tourism and Amusement Company - or the Sociedade de Turismo e Diversoes de Macau - dipped from $1.8 billion in 1998 to $760 million last year.
According to preliminary government statistics, STDM paid $4.2 billion in casino monopoly taxes to the Macau Government last year, 43 per cent of total government revenue.
STDM's tax rate amounts to 31.8 per cent of its gross takings.
The company's monopoly franchise expires at the end of next year.
Macau Government Chief Executive Edmund Ho Hau-wah will set up a panel of international gambling industry experts before deciding on the fate of the monopoly, which has been held by STDM since 1962.
The 10,000 STDM employees make-up five per cent of the workforce.
Gambling and tourism generate about 40 per cent of Macau's gross domestic product.
