SENIOR MACAU OFFICIALS PROBED FOR “ABUSE OF POWER” macaunews.com.mo

Three senior officials at the Administration of Macau are in danger of being dismissed for abuse of power during their tenures at the Financial Service Bureau, according to Lusa.  Carlos Avila, former director of the Finance Service Bureau, Orieta Lau, the bureau’s current director, and Joao Janela, advisor to the Secretary for Economy and Finance face allegations of abuse of power leading to the Macau government unnecessarily spending more than MOP 3.4 million corresponding to an excess of compensation paid to the men for gratuitous meetings.

ZHUHAI AND MACAU REVEAL GRAND PLAN FOR THE ISLAND THEY WILL RUN scmp.com

A detailed plan for Hengqin Island was revealed by Zhuhai authorities yesterday.  The island will be jointly developed by Zhuhai and Macau and, according to the plan, the gross domestic product of the island should be 56 billion yuan (HK$63.5 billion) by 2020.  The island currently has a sparse population and recorded a GDP of 128 million yuan last year.

The new campus of the University of Macau will span one square kilometer and will be operated according to Macau laws, separated from the rest of the island, and a tunnel will allow free movement of people between the campus and Macau proper. 

Other projects on the island include a huge China National Offshore Oil Corp gas terminal; gas-engine generator projects costing 12 billion yuan; and a massive ocean-themed entertainment centre, said to be the largest in Asia.

TAIWAN’S POLITICAL SHAKE-UP UNLIKELY TO DERAIL CASINO PLANS, EXPERTS SAY gamblingcompliance.com

Despite major political activity in Taiwan, the plan to develop casinos on the outlying islands of Penghu is still on track.  Taiwanese Premier Liu Chao-shiuan and a slew of Cabinet officials quit en masse on September 10, following the government’s slow response to Typhoon Morakot, which lashed the island from August 7 to 9.

The political events should have no impact on gaming plans”, said Michael Tsai, president of ASTech Corp., a Taiwan-based gaming industry consultancy. “The key person who supports gaming industry development is President Ma himself — as long as he’s in office, everything should remain on track.”  Furthermore, replacing Liu is Wu Den-yih, a staunch political ally of Ma.

Penghu itself was largely unaffected by the typhoon and the timetable for issuing casino-related tender notices is unchanged.