Stanley Ho's SJM pushes for more Macau people in top casino positions
Tycoon's SJM gambling flagship supports government move to promote upward mobility for Macau employees in the industry
Gaming tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun's gambling flagship has backed the Macau government's move to require foreign casino operators to promote more locals into high-paying management jobs.
Sociedade de Jogos de Macau (SJM) Holdings, Macau's only home-grown casino corporation, said the people of the former Portuguese enclave had reached a point where they needed more upward mobility.
"As society changes, as the economy develops and as people's academic qualifications rise, such a time for upward mobility has come," said executive director Angela Leong On-kei.
With licence renewal talks for foreign operators expected to start in two years, Macau Chief Executive Dr Fernando Chui Sai-on pledged in his policy address last week to ensure more Macau people would get jobs in the companies' management.
The long-term direction would be towards setting a "certain proportion" of these positions for locals, he said.
The move was prompted in part by locals' discontent over their pay disparity with foreigners, who occupy mostly managerial-level jobs.