Shun Tak Holdings Ltd, the Macau transport company and developer controlled by billionaire Stanley Ho, aims to expand its ferry routes to counter competition from a rival service and a bridge linking the city to Hong Kong.
The company, which earned almost two-thirds of revenue last year from its ferry unit, may add routes connecting Hong Kong and Macau with more locations in mainland's Pearl River Delta, according to Managing Director Pansy Ho, the daughter of Stanley Ho.
Shun Tak, listed in Hong Kong, faces gaming and transport competition from Las Vegas Sands Corp which owns the Venetian Casino, Asia's biggest casino-resort. Demand for ferry services between Hong Kong and Macau may also be hurt when a bridge linking the cities is built.
The Hong Kong-Macau route last year accounted for about 80 percent of Shun Tak's ferry revenue.
"Since the idea of the bridge first became serious five years ago we have began preparing for its impact on our business," Pansy Ho said. "We realize we need to reduce our dependence on the single-route model."
Most visitors to Macau from overseas and Hong Kong travel there by ferry. Few airlines are able to fly to Macau because of limited aviation rights and lack of capacity at the city's airport. Most mainland Chinese visitors enter the city through nearby Zhuhai City.
Meanwhile, Pansy Ho said a joint venture with MGM Mirage for a second gaming project would not be derailed by government measures to curb gambling expansion in the city.
"I don't see delays being caused," Pansy Ho, who owns 50 percent of the venture, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television in Macau.
China is trying to slow the gaming boom in the city to avoid potential social unrest.
