CLAIMS TO FAME
- Among the most prominent of Dr Stanley Ho’s 17 children
- Has interests in two Macau concessionaires plus multiple other real estate and hospitality holdings
For all intents and purposes, it’s been a pretty good year for Pansy Ho. Late last year, when Macau’s concessionaires signed their new 10-year concessions with the Macau SAR Government, MGM China emerged as the biggest winner of all when granted an allocation of 750 gaming tables under the table cap. Having previously been allocated 552 tables, this meant the number of tables MGM would be allowed to operate across its Macau properties – MGM Cotai and MGM Macau – was to increase by 36% as of 1 January 2023.
The impact was immediate. In the company’s 1Q23 earnings call in April, it was revealed that mass gaming revenues post border-reopening had already reached 115% of pre-COVID levels: a rapid recovery attributed to a confluence of factors but notably the addition of new gaming inventory.
By Q2, net revenues had exceeded 2019 levels by 5% and Adjusted EBITDAR by 21%, even though only 150 of its 198 new tables were in play throughout the quarter. That suggests even more room for growth in the months ahead.
Parent MGM Resorts International – which holds a 55.95% stake in MGM China – said its Macau subsidiary had as early as February re-established its standing as the company’s highest-earning business. Recognizing the signficance of this, the two entities signed a new agreement soon afterwards under which MGM Resorts will help source more international customers for MGM China by utilizing its global database and establishing a series of new global marketing offices. Little wonder, then, that analysts are universally tipping MGM China to grow its Macau market share to record levels by 2024.
Ho, meanwhile, continues to hold massive influence in Macau, not only by way of her 22.49% stake in MGM China but as the head of an alliance that has majority control of SJM’s controlling shareholder, Sociedade de Turismo e Diversões de Macau, S.A. (STDM). Her sister, Daisy Ho, is Chairman of SJM Holdings and Managing Director of its concession-holding subsidiary SJM Resorts S.A., giving Pansy Ho a direct line into the operations of a second Macau concessionaire.
Ho also oversees Shun Tak Holdings – the Hong Kong-listed property and transport firm of which she serves as Chairman, CEO and Director. Shun Tak is itself one of Macau’s biggest land owners with interests in a number of Macau gaming operators including Artyzen Hospitality Group, which owns Grand Lapa.
Her role as chair of Estoril Sol, a listed company in Europe that operates two of Portugal’s biggest casinos – Casino de Lisboa in Lisbon and Casino do Estoril in Cascais – may have been in some doubt before ultimately winning a new 15-year concession late last year when the Portuguese government rejected a strong proposal from a rival bidder.
The influence of Pansy Ho endures.
For the full list of 2023 Asian Gaming Power 50 winners, click here.
