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唐朱昌
唐朱昌
教授,博士生导师。复旦大学中国反洗钱研究中心首任主任,复旦大学俄...
严立新
严立新
复旦大学国际金融学院教授,中国反洗钱研究中心执行主任,陆家嘴金...
陈浩然
陈浩然
复旦大学法学院教授、博士生导师;复旦大学国际刑法研究中心主任。...
何 萍
何 萍
华东政法大学刑法学教授,复旦大学中国反洗钱研究中心特聘研究员,荷...
李小杰
李小杰
安永金融服务风险管理、咨询总监,曾任蚂蚁金服反洗钱总监,复旦大学...
周锦贤
周锦贤
周锦贤先生,香港人,广州暨南大学法律学士,复旦大学中国反洗钱研究中...
童文俊
童文俊
高级经济师,复旦大学金融学博士,复旦大学经济学博士后。现供职于中...
汤 俊
汤 俊
武汉中南财经政法大学信息安全学院教授。长期专注于反洗钱/反恐...
李 刚
李 刚
生辰:1977.7.26 籍贯:辽宁抚顺 民族:汉 党派:九三学社 职称:教授 研究...
祝亚雄
祝亚雄
祝亚雄,1974年生,浙江衢州人。浙江师范大学经济与管理学院副教授,博...
顾卿华
顾卿华
复旦大学中国反洗钱研究中心特聘研究员;现任安永管理咨询服务合伙...
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上传时间: 2009-12-21      浏览次数:2885次
China to tighten grip over world's biggest gambling industry

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.