Key points:
- Sam Hou Fai received 394 out of 398 votes as the sole candidate
- First Chief Executive of Macau born in mainland China
- Generally, leaders have been from business backgrounds
Sam Hou Fai has been named as the new Chief Executive of Macau, becoming the first leader of the region born in mainland China.
Sam became a judge in 1997 at the Court of First Instance and in December 1999 was appointed as the President of the Court of Final Appeal of Macau, a role he held until August of this year, resigning ahead of his bid to become the Chief Executive of Macau.
The new Macau Chief Executive was the only candidate and, in the end, received 394 out of the 398 votes.
Not only is Sam’s election a break from tradition because of his place of birth, but also because he is from a legal background, when generally those in this position have been from a business background.
His election could have wider influence on the casino industry based on previous comments prior to this election.
Sam has said previously “for a period of time, the tourism and gaming industry developed in a disorderly manner and expanded wildly,” stating that having one industry dominate the city “is not beneficial for Macau’s long-term development.”
In other news from the region, back in September, Macau’s casino operators saw revenue gains after the Chinese government’s announcement to revitalize the economy with a major stimulus package. According to reports, this announcement saw shares of the six casino concessionaires rise from 2.32% to 12.77% by the end of trading.
