Francis Lui replaces late father as Galaxy Entertainment chair

Francis Lui is the eldest son of Galaxy Entertainment Group founder and chair Lui Che Woo, who died on 7 November at age 95. The appointment was effective immediately.

In a 14 December retrospective, Macau Business acknowledged the elder Lui as a key player in the development of Cotai as a centre of gaming and hospitality. GEG operates two resorts in the district, Galaxy Macau and Broadway Macau, as well as StarWorld Macau on the peninsula.

Lui, 67, joined the group in 1979. He became an executive director in 1987 and was appointed deputy chairman in 1997. He also serves as a vice chair of the Macau Institute for Tourism Studies.

In 2005, GEG became the first integrated Macau casino concessionaire to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It joined the Hang Seng Index as a constituent in 2013.

In a statement, Lui expressed thanks for his father’s leadership. He pledged to make GEG the “world’s leading integrated tourism and leisure company”, to contribute to Macau’s diversification beyond gaming.

Macau’s most ambitious development pipeline

Galaxy Macau is the world’s fifth-largest casino. It offers a 37,000sqm gaming floor, dozens of restaurants and a 14,000-capacity entertainment venue, Galaxy Arena.

GEG boasts what it calls the largest development pipeline of any casino concessionaire in Macau. Phase 4 of its HK$5.1 billion (£519 billion/€624.75 billion/$651.6 billion) Galaxy Macau expansion will add six hotels and a 4,000-seat theatre. In total, it will bring GEG’s Cotai footprint to more than two million square metres. The expansion is expected to be complete in 2027.

This year, Galaxy Macau was named the “Best Integrated Resort in Asia Pacific” in the Travel Leisure Luxury Awards.

In a January interview with Macau Business, father and son agreed with the government’s push to make the local economy less reliant on gaming.

“We will continue to… help enrich the mix of Macau’s tourist source markets”, said Lui Che Woo.

In a third-quarter earnings statement, GEG confirmed Phase 4’s “strong focus on non-gaming, primarily targeting entertainment (and) family facilities”.

MICE plus entertainment

According to Meetings & Conventions Asia, the Luis created the concept called “MICE-E,” which adds entertainment to the existing acronym MICE, for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions. MICE tourism is a linchpin of the government’s “4+1” strategy to transform Macau from a gambling town into an international destination.

“I’m confident Macau can compete to attract international visitors,” Lui has said, “but not because it’s cheaper.… We will be competing because we have better quality.”

Tom Chan Pak-lam of the Institute of Securities Dealers, told the South China Morning Post that “the business direction and leadership of (GEG) should not see a big change following Lui’s appointment. It will be a smooth transition.”