Long-time Mainstay SJM Commits to Local Talent with Multi-Billion Grand Lisboa IR Project
Published September 21, 2020 by Lee R
SJM is targeting local talent for thousands of new jobs in an IR project on Macau's Cotai strip.
Macau is down but definitely not out.
Swarming Back
As mentioned in several articles, Grand Lisboa Palace on the Macau Cotai strip is hiring and redeveloping with a vengeance.
SJM's Revitalizing Project
SJM Holdings completed construction on a massive $5 billion IR project in Macau in March just as the Covid hit. The massive complex plans to host 2000 hotel rooms and three grand towers: the Lisboa Palace Hotel, Palazzo Versace Macau, and Karl Lagerfeld Hotel.
The Grounds
Measuring nearly 300,000 square feet, the casino floor will be equipped with 700 table games and 1200 slot machines.
Job Fair
A recent job fair on-site hosted 2,000 locals and hired some 600.
History of SJM in Macau
The late Billionaire and SJM founder Stanley Ho held a monopoly on casino gambling in Macau for some four decades before the administrative region was returned from Portugal to China in 1999.
Opening the Market
In 2002, the Chinese Special Administrative Region (SAR) opened the market to five new casino operators--Las Vegas Sands; Melco Resorts; Galaxy Entertainment; MGM Resorts; and Wynn Resorts. SJM's market share from 100 percent of Macau’s gross gaming revenue (GGR) at the time to just 14.9 in 2019.
Macau's IR Movement
The five additional other commercial casino operators have all since invested in new IRs off Macau's Cotai peninsula, where the high rollers were known to gravitate—until Covid hit.
First Arrivals on the Strip
The Venetian actually first settled the Cotai strip in 2007, with SJM is now preparing to establish its first holding on the strip after many years downtown.
SJM Joins Cotai
According to SJ Chair Daisy Ho, hiring and career advancement of local talent in new job recruitments is SJM's priority for Grand Lisboa.
Macau During Covid
Apart from a 15-day shutdown in February, Macau stayed open during the pandemic to keep employees working, against the total disappearance of patronage at a rate of nearly 100%.
Unemployment Swells
In a region whose economy heavily depends on gambling revenue, unemployment rose from 1.7 percent in January 2020 to at the beginning of the year to 2.7 percent by July.
Outlook
The commitment of this gambling dragon to the Macau shoreline is a confirmation that the industry will rebound and competition among the Big Six operators will begin fresh in its own time and way.
