/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/6033780bf1a66b4b5e25e7e7/0x0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=2049&cropY1=30&cropY2=1183)
Lui Che Woo (right) and son Francis Lui attend a press conference.
Bloomberg: Anthony Kwan
This story is part of Forbes’ coverage of Hong Kong’s Richest 2021. See the full list here.
During a year that crimped gaming, Galaxy Entertainment remained relatively stable due to its nongaming offerings. Travel restrictions contributed to a more than 30 million drop in Macau’s visitor arrivals in 2020, to 6 million. Yet Galaxy’s shares have held steady since the beginning of 2020, despite a decline in most other Macau casino shares.
Lui Che Woo’s net worth at $17.8 billion is up 16% from last year’s list, even as Galaxy’s group net revenue fell 88% to HK$1.6 billion ($205 million) for the third quarter 2020 year-on-year and posted an adjusted EBITDA loss of HK$943 million. “The gradual reopening of travel from mainland China emphasizing individual and family tourism benefits Galaxy’s comprehensive nongaming facilities,” says University of Macau economist Ricardo Siu. Galaxy’s flagship resort, Galaxy Macau, features an artificial beach and a wave pool along with a casino, cineplex, restaurants, retail and hotels.
D.S. Kim, head of Asian gaming research for JPMorgan in Hong Kong, says Macau’s gaming revenue won’t return to pre-pandemic levels until 2023. But Siu says a $6.5 billion expansion of the Galaxy Macau, which includes a 15,000-seat arena and convention center, is due to begin opening in phases later this year and will position Galaxy well for the future.
As editor at large for Inside Asian Gaming following nearly a decade as a special correspondent for Macau Business magazine, I cover the casino business in Macau and
…
As editor at large for Inside Asian Gaming following nearly a decade as a special correspondent for Macau Business magazine, I cover the casino business in Macau and throughout Asia. I’m also a contributor to Asia Times, This Week in Asia from the South China Morning Post andand The Guardian. After writing in the US for The New York Times, Washington Post, Sports Illustrated and others, I joined CNN as a news writer and producer in Washington, then moved to Hong Kong in 1995 (for six months, I thought) as a producer with CNBC. In Hong Kong, I returned to print at Bloomberg as a regional business editor, worked as an editor at both Hong Kong English language dailies and headed Asia-wide media relations for a top US multinational. I’m also the author of Hong Kong On Air, a novel set during the 1997 handover about TV news, love, betrayal, high finance and cheap lingerie, and founder of Writing Clinic, where writing gets better. You can follow me via my website www.muhammadcohen.com, on Facebook and Twitter @MuhammadCohen.