Pansy Ho urges Melco to look to Singapore for diversification

Pansy Ho says her family’s gaming companies should look to diversify given mainland China’s anti-gambling stance.

Billionaire businesswoman Pansy Ho.

Billionaire businesswoman Pansy Ho says her family’s Asian-based gaming companies should increasingly look to diversify given mainland China’s anti-gambling stance.

Ms Ho, daughter of multi-billionaire tycoon Stanley Ho, and managing director of the family’s Hong Kong-based non-gaming company Shun Tak Holdings, said Singapore’s attitude to gaming and the city-state’s ability to diversify into other forms of entertainment was a positive example. “We see the good example of Singapore of how they have also been successful (in diversifying away from pure gaming), so with that in mind we simply need to address our own methodology,” Ms Ho told The Australian.

“We do know that China is indeed against gaming.

“It is against the law to do any sort of solicitation. Even from our standpoint we are always being very careful. We are forbidden … we can only structure gaming marketing in such a way that we don’t directly go to the customers in China.”

Ms Ho has a net worth of $US6.4 billion ($8.7bn) according to Forbes. She has controlled Shun Tak, which has diverse interests in property, hospitality and transport, since 1999.

“From my perspective — which is to operate some of the non-gaming components of the family businesses — we are interested in hotel management and ownership and we are starting to look at Australia,” Ms Ho said. She did not know why 18 Crown staff were arrested in China last year, adding that “maybe (there was) certain evidential proof as to direct (marketing) activity”.

The Crown employees were detained in raids last October in four Chinese cities on suspicion of what Beijing labelled as unspecified “gambling crimes”. Fifteen Crown staff remain behind bars in a Shanghai prison without charge.

James Packer late on Monday night sold all of Crown’s interest in the Macau joint venture, ending his partnership with Ms Ho’s brother Lawrence Ho, the chairman and chief executive of Melco Crown Entertainment.

“In the long run, even for us in Macau, we are now having to begin to diversify, that is why with all the concessions in Macau we are all building new facilities,” she added.

“That actually puts a greater emphasis on entertainment and attractions beyond gaming.

“The whole world over we are going to be adjusting to the needs of the customers and that with the new set of customers’ mentality they want multiple enjoyment when they go to a facility.”

Ms Ho was attending the World Travel and Tourism Council in Bangkok.

The writer travelled to Bangkok as a guest of the WTTC.