In 2002, the Macau Special Administrative Region (MSAR) positioned itself at the forefront of the gaming industry with the liberalization of the sector. Morgan Stanley estimates that gross gaming revenue will reach MOP 234 billion in 2024. Although still far from the MOP 360 billion peak in 2013, this figure underscores the substantial growth of the gaming sector compared to 1999, when gross revenue was just MOP 15.7 billion.
Over the first 25 years of integration, there was also an exponential increase in tourism, from 7.4 million to over 30 million visitors, which propelled the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from approximately MOP 52 billion to an estimated MOP 410 billion. The MSAR initially reflected modest economic significance, with nominal GDP per capita rising from about MOP 110,000 to its current level of around MOP 630,000. Simultaneously, the strategic value of the MSAR—originally defined as a gateway between China and the West—has gradually been redefined as a bridge linking the People’s Republic of China with Portuguese-speaking countries.
Against this backdrop, on December 20, Sam Hou Fai takes office as Chief Executive at a time of significant changes, including international shifts, bearing the responsibility to strengthen the economic and strategic values of the MSAR through economic diversification and reinforcement of the Lusophone platform within the transitional period leading up to 2049.
The new Chief Executive will undoubtedly bring together the key stakeholders in the MSAR and garner support from the Guangdong provincial government to jointly adopt the best solutions. These include safeguarding the region’s long-term economic value by reducing dependency on the gaming sector and expanding the strategic influence of the Lusophone platform by leveraging the Greater Bay Area as a gateway to African countries.
This will require defining a demanding and specialized economic diversification strategy, potentially in the financial and technological domains. The strategy could involve investments in a “Private Equity Center,” promoting entrepreneurship and innovation, attracting new players, and fostering various types of investments such as growth capital, leveraged acquisitions, and startup incubation. Over the medium term, the Greater Bay Area could focus on fintech solutions, while in the long term, it could explore investments in and development of the space economy.
Additionally, this effort will involve enhancing the Forum for Economic and Trade Cooperation as a multifunctional platform to facilitate economic and cultural development and cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries. The aim would be to extend this cooperation to other African Union member states and to centralize the bilateral relations of these countries with Greater China within the Greater Bay Area.
To improve the quality of life for the population, the new Chief Executive and his team must be bold—both to overcome the challenge of economic value by developing a highly sophisticated economy and to leverage the strategic value of integration into the Greater Bay Area. In this way, the MSAR will not only strengthen itself but also contribute, in its own capacity, to the People’s Republic of China’s goal of becoming a pivotal player on the African continent. This is essential for China’s role in the emerging new world order over the coming decade.
