Neto Valente: “Galaxy has to keep its words”

Jorge Neto Valente confirmed yesterday that he will replace Pedro Ho as managing director of Galaxy Casino S.A., but he did not disclose exactly when he will assume office.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Spring Festival cocktail reception hosted by the Chinese Liaison Office in Macau, the veteran lawyer said that the gaming operator should fulfill its commitments regarding the projects in Macau.
“All the promises made by the operator have to be met. There will be no room for wild promises,” Neto Valente stressed.
Replacing Pedro Ho in Galaxy, yet Neto Valente is not new to the role of managing director. The president of the Macau Lawyers Association was managing director of Las Vegas Sands until early 2008.
Asked about the delays on the construction of Galaxy Macau in Cotai, he pointed out that the land concession license was only issued by the government a few months ago.
“That is a usual situation. But I am concerned about the present and the future. I do not care about the past,” he added.
The company began the construction of the mega resort in 2004, but the land concession was only published in the Official Gazette in October 2009. The first land parcel of the site cost the gaming operator HKD1.12 billion.
Galaxy plans to complete the financing for its HKD14.1 billion resort by March.
Chief Financial Officer, Robert Drake, has said last month that the funding plan will cover the remainder of Galaxy’s financing needs for the Cotai project, which includes a casino and three luxury hotels.
Galaxy said earlier that it has already committed about HKD 5.1 billion for the project.
Neto Valente has to take a 10 percent stake in Galaxy, a legal requirement of any managing director of a gaming company, and also to register his name in the Commercial Registry.
The entire process will be concluded with a formal notification to the government.

Back to the legislature

Meanwhile, after the Chinese New Year holidays, the provisional committee for the Analysis of the Land and Public Concessions of the Legislative Assembly (AL) will meet to discuss whether or not they will debate on the Galaxy’s Cotai land grant, Portuguese newspaper Hoje Macau reported yesterday.
Committee president, Kwan Tsui Hang, said that the first report should be ready in August, even if the lawmakers did not reach a consensus.
The issue of the casino operator’s massive land grant was raised by lawmaker Au Kam San in November last year.
On Tuesday, director of the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau (DSSOPT), Jaime Carion, insisted that there was no wrongdoing in the land deal, despite criticisms from lawmakers.
He explained that, due to the economic conditions at that time, construction of large-scale gaming projects would create more employment and business opportunities for Macau, thus benefiting the promotion of diversified development in the gaming sector and also facilitating the local tourism and service industries.