IAG
A standard human pregnancy lasts precisely 40 weeks. So, if you had conceived a baby on Tuesday 14 September 2021, the day the public consultation period for Macau’s new gaming law was announced, that baby should be due on Tuesday 21 June 2022, the day the Macau Legislative Assembly (AL) is expected to finally birth it into existence. This is despite the weekend outbreak of COVID-19. When asked by IAG yesterday (19 June) whether the outbreak would disrupt the passage of the new law, Macau’s Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong replied, “The schedule of the Legislative Council meeting for the Gaming Law has not changed.”
Let’s look back at those 40 weeks of twists and turns.
The whole process kicked off in earnest on Tuesday 15 September at 5pm – less than 48 hours after the elections for the 7th term of the Macau Legislative Assembly (AL) – when Macau’s Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lei Wai Nong, fronted a press conference announcing a 45-day public consultation period beginning the next day.
This led to a panicked sell-off of Macau gaming stocks the following day, wiping out US$18.4 billion from the market capitalization of the Hong Kong-listed entities of the six concessionaires, representing 26% of their value.
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