As Macao's economy is undergoing a rapid development, many Australians saw "significant opportunities" in the Special Administrative Region (SAR), said Les Luck, Australian Consul-General Hong Kong and Macao, on Thursday.
Luck made the remarks when delivering a speech at an Australian reception in the island city on Thursday, which was also attended by Macao SAR Chief Executive Ho Hau Wah, and 200 local community leaders.
The Consul-General said he was impressed by the level of involvement Australians have in Macao's economy, working in fields ranging from the hospitality, gaming, construction, infrastructure, transportation and food and beverage sectors.
"We estimate more than 2,000 Australians live in Macao and expect that number will continue to increase," said Luck.
During the period of 2006-2007, Australia's merchandise trade with the SAR was worth 632.2 million patacas (79 million U.S. dollars), and Australian's direct exports to the SAR amounted to 565.1 million patacas (70.6 million U.S. dollars) while imports from Macao's to 67.1 million patacas (8.4 million U.S. dollars), according to the figures from the Consulate-General.
Luck also said that the SAR government's recent decision to freeze new casino projects and maintain the current gaming industry scale will not immediately affect Australian companies that have investment in the island city.
Australia's richest man James Packer has set up a joint venture, Melco PBL Entertainment, with Lawrence Ho, son of Macao gaming Magnate Stanley Ho, and built the Crown Macao, a six-star casino resort. A larger integrated casino resort project launched by Melco PBL is currently under construction in the city.
Source: Xinhua
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