It was recently revealed that Ho Iat Seng was almost a shoo-in to be Macau’s next chief executive. He is expected to run unopposed to replace Fernando Chui Sai On when his turn at the helm ends this December and no one else is in the same league as Seng. According to Macau’s Electoral Affairs Commission for the Chief Executive Election (CEE), many of the 379 people who are officially supporting Ho for the position are among the top brass of the city’s casinos.
The committee has a total of 400 seats, and the fact that the former president of the Legislative Assembly received support from all but 21 indicates that he must be doing something right. With such a high number of supporters, it’s virtually impossible that anyone could oppose him.
The CEE committee has strong representation from the gaming community and all of the casino executives are behind Ho. Among these are Lawrence Ho of Melco Resorts and Entertainment, Pansy Ho of MGM China Holdings, Ambrose So Shu Fai and Angela Leong On Kei of SJM Holdings and Francis Lui Yiu Tung of Galaxy Entertainment.
The chief executive Macau is chosen by the election committee, not by a direct vote. The committee is composed of important executives from different industries in the city, including commerce, finance, education, labor and others. For someone to be considered as a candidate for the position, he or she must receive a minimum of 66 nominations from members of the CEE committee.
A vote on Ho taking over the city’s top job will be held August 25, despite there being virtually no objection. It’s unclear why 21 committee members may be opposed to him, but it’s never possible to please everyone.
Chui has led the city for the past nine and a half years. He’s currently ready to bring to a close his second five-year term at the end of 2019, with the next chief executive to officially take his place December 20.
Ho will have several big jobs to manage as the new chief executive. Macau has initiated a plan to expand beyond gaming in order to attract other tourist segments and this plan requires a lot of attention for it to be implemented appropriately. He is also going to have to deal with the casino retender process coming up in 2022, which could possibly include adding one or two new concessions into the mix.
