Macau’s six casino firms pledge US$5mln in aggregate for Tibet mudslide relief effort

Macau’s six casino concessionaires and a charitable foundation linked to Galaxy Entertainment Group Ltd have pledged a combined MOP40 million (US$5.0 million) to support relief and recovery efforts following a deadly mudslide in Gyirong County, Xigaze city, in Tibet. Galaxy Entertainment and the Lui Che Woo Family Charitable Foundation jointly pledged MOP10 million, while Sands China Ltd announced a donation of the same amount. Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd, MGM China Holdings Ltd, SJM Resorts Ltd and Wynn Macau Ltd each pledged MOP5 million. The donations are being made with the assistance of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macau Special Administrative Region. The mudslide struck the area around Gyirong Port, in Xigaze city, on August 26. The disaster, triggered by a high-altitude glacier collapse and ice-rock avalanche occurred on the Nepalese side of the border, resulted in casualties on both sides, with a number of people still missing. The money pledged is to support search-and-rescue operations, the provision of relief supplies and medical assistance, the temporary resettlement of affected residents, and longer-term reconstruction, according to separate press releases. Galaxy Entertainment chairman Francis Lui Yiu Tung said the firm hoped its contribution would provide “timely and meaningful assistance” to relief and recovery work. Wilfred Wong Ying Wai, executive vice chairman of Sands China, said the firm, with its donation, aimed to “provide immediate assistance to those impacted and stand in solidarity with the local communities”. Melco Resorts chairman and chief executive, Lawrence Ho Yau Lung, said the company would continue to monitor the recovery effort and work with other sectors of society to support the affected area. Pansy Ho Chiu King, chairperson and an executive director of MGM China, expressed confidence that the affected communities would overcome the disaster and “gradually rebuild their lives and livelihoods”. SJM Resorts managing director Daisy Ho Chiu Fung said the company hoped its donation would assist ongoing relief and recovery work and help affected residents return to normal life. Linda Chen, president, vice chairman and executive director of Wynn Macau Ltd, said the firm hoped its contribution would help “affected residents through this difficult period”. In late August, the Macau government donated CNY30 million (US$4.5 million) to Tibet, also to support local rescue and recovery efforts following the disaster.