Bloomberg – 
, son of Macau gambling tycoon Stanley Ho, plans to invest more than $5 billion in Japan if Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (MPEL) receives permission to build a casino there as he sees constraints on development at home.
Ho’s maneuver to build projects in the world’s third-largest economy is part of his strategy to expand overseas for future growth, as government policies, limited land and a labor shortage in Macau could eventually restrict gaming development.
“We still have the most eggs in the Macau basket,” Ho, co-chairman of Melco Crown, said in an interview in Tokyo on Sept. 28. “Given the Macau government and the Chinese government want to control the growth rate,” the company is seeking other opportunities outside the city, he said.
Ho is investing in gaming projects in the Philippines and Russia in addition to lobbying for casino gaming in Japan. The Macau government has limited the number of gaming tables and hands out land permits at intervals to prevent the industry from growing too fast in a city that’s half the size of Manhattan and whose $38 billion in casino revenue last year was six times larger than that of the Las Vegas Strip.
“Macau is a small place,” Ho said. “As much as I want to build a theme park, we just don’t have the land to do it.” Still, he expects casino revenues in Macau will grow at least 10 percent next year as the global economy improves.
Melco shares fell 1.8 percent to close at HK$80.40 in Hong Kong trading today, reducing this year’s gain to 88 percent, compared with the 0.9 percent gain in benchmark Hang Seng Index.
Lawrence Ho, son of Macau gambling tycoon Stanley Ho, plans to invest more than $5 billion in Japan if Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd. (MPEL) receives permission to build a casino there as he sees constraints on development at home.
Ho’s maneuver to build projects in the world’s third-largest economy is part of his strategy to expand overseas for future growth, as government policies, limited land and a labor shortage in Macau could eventually restrict gaming development.
