Dec.21, 2009, 03:38pm

BEIJING: Macau, the world’s biggest gambling centre by revenue, will soon go through a process of restructuring so that the local economy does not depend on gaming.

This is the message from Chinese president Hu Jintao on the 10th anniversary of the former Portuguese enclave’s return to Chinese rule. Hu told a ceremony to mark the occasion that the central government wants Macau to reduce its dependence on gambling and diversify the economy.

The casinos driven economy of Macau has caused some amount of embarrassment to Chinese authorities since the US Treasury accused a local bank of laundering money on behalf of North Korean leaders engaged in nuclear proliferation three years back.

In Macau, Hu presided over a change of guard in the local leadership and hinted at plans to tighten controls over the gambling industry. Macau’s casinos have been accused of providing shelter to black money generated by corrupt officials besides indulging in money laundering.

The city should be “strengthening and improving the management of the gambling sector,” the Chinese president said.

The past decade has seen international gambling companies like Las Vegas Sands Corp. and Wynn Resorts Ltd. Invest billions of dollars in the industry in Macau, which surpassed Las Vegas Strip and emerged as the world’s biggest grosser of gambling revenue three years back.

Hu told local leaders to “utilize fully the series of measures that the central government has already adopted to support Macau”. He asked them to diversify the economy, lift living standards and improve the educational system.

The 27 square kilometer territory, an hour’s ferry ride from Hong Kong, has been ruled by Edmund Ho for 10 years since Macau returned to China after 442 years of Portuguese rule. Ho, who played a key role in the growth of the gaming industry, has now been replaced by a new leader, Fernando Chui. The Chinese president pledged full support of the central government for the new leader.

Macau and Hong Kong are the only places in China that enjoy free elections. Chui, the new leader being backed by Beijing, won a landslide victory winning 282 of the 296 votes cast by Macau’s 300- member election committee in July. Macau’s democracy is apparently dependent on the wishes of the Communist leadership in Beijing.