(Bloomberg) — Former Macau judge Sam Hou Fai, who has warned about the gambling industry’s outsized influence in the city, was chosen as the new leader by a 400-member committee.
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Sam, 62, the ex-president of Macau’s Court of Final Appeal, was the only candidate in the election for CEO. He received 394 of the 398 votes cast on Sunday, while the remaining four were blank.
Sam’s victory raises questions about the prospects for the world’s largest casino market. In August, he warned about the dominant role gambling centers play in the local economy, saying that “for some time the tourism and gambling industry has developed and expanded wildly in a disorderly manner.”
The fact that one industry dominates the city “is not conducive to Macau’s long-term development,” he said. The growth of casinos had put pressure on resources such as manpower and even limited career choices for young people, Sam said, calling for diversification away from the industry.
The former judge’s comments coincided with Beijing launching its latest crackdown on money laundering and capital outflows, a measure that targeted Macau’s currency exchange business.
In recent years, the city has jailed top junket operators, who brought in high rollers and provided them with credit. Macau has also introduced rules restricting the agents’ activities, resulting in the collapse of VIP gambling that once contributed half of the city’s casino revenue.
Macau’s outgoing chief executive Ho Iat Seng had said he would not seek another term due to health reasons.
Sam becomes the first person born outside Macau to lead the city. He comes from the neighboring Chinese province of Guangdong and moved to Macau in the 1980s when the city fell under the rule of Portugal.
He studied at Peking University and Coimbra University in Portugal before becoming a judge in Macau in 1997.
–With help from Krystal Chia.
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